Embers
by dontwakeme19
Summary: November Curtis is 15 years old. The youngest out of her 3 older brothers. Her family has been struggling to make ends meet since her parents died. Darry went from being the awesome big brother to parent in no time at all. Tension is high and emotions are higher. Everyone is forced to man up and be more responsible than teenagers should have to be. R&R(:
1. Chapter 1

**I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS EXCEPT NOVEMBER*** OUTSIDERS FANFICTION(:**

We're all crowded around the kitchen table, eating supper. Pony and Soda are talking, joking around about how nasty the food is even though it's just pizza. So I decide to take my chance with Darry.

"So... Darry." I say, trying to decide how to ask him.

He glances up at me from the newspaper, raising his eyebrows. "Yeah?"

"So, thing is, there's this party tonight at Brian Spengler's house, over on Augusta Street. Can I go?" I ask, smiling at him.

Pony and Soda are listening now, waiting with me for Darry to respond.

He puts down the paper, taking out another piece of pizza. "Who in all's gonna be there?"

"Just a bunch of friends, obviously just Greasers. But yeah, I'll be back by 12 if you want?"

He raises his eyebrows even higher, if possible. "Isaac gonna be there?"

Soda laughs and Pony hides a grin. I just look at him.

"Um yeah. He's gonna pick me up if I can go, and he'll bring me back home."

"I don't think so November."He says, looking at Soda and Pony.

"Ugh.. Darry. Why not?" I ask, disappointed.

Soda grins again, looking back and forth between me and Darry.

"Well..." Darry says. "For starters, you're only 15. You have a boyfriend who's almost 17 and you wanna go to a party until midnight."

"Pony's only 10 months older than me and he goes out all the time. Especially on Fridays." I argue back. Even though I know what this is about. He really doesn't care that much. He just doesn't want me and Isaac alone for that long when he ain't there to supervise.

"November." He says, sounding a little bit sterner. "You know why you can't go."

"Where's the trust here Darry?" I ask, getting sorta pissed off. "Just because I have a boyfriend doesn't mean he's gonna get in my pants any chance he gets. He has more respect for me than that." I raise my eyebrows up at him, waiting for an answer, but he looks sorta conflicted. "I won't do anything I don't wanna do, Dar. Just trust me."

"She's right Darry." Soda says, smiling. "You gotta trust her. She ain't stupid." He winks at me and I can't help but smile back.

"I trust _her_." He says, picking his paper back up. Since we know how Darry is, we all sit there, waiting for him to say something else. Five seconds later... "You'll be back by 12 on the dot. I'm trusting you Ember, don't mess that up." I stand up, walking around the table to hug him.

"Thanks Darry." I say, kissing him on the cheek. I look at Soda and mouth _Thank you. _

"How'd you get him to say yes?" Isaac asks, sliding his hand around my shoulders as I climb onto the seat of the truck.

"I think mainly Soda." I say, grinning as we edge onto the road. We drive for a couple minutes in silence, holding his hand as it rests on my shoulder.

"You know," He says, glancing at me slyly. "We don't _have_ to go to the party.

"Where else would we go?" I ask, glancing at the clock, which already reads 9:08.

"Remember? Ma and Dad left about 6 to take Roger to that special doctor a couple towns over, where he broke his arm real bad and they think he needs therapy. They're getting a motel room for the night because their appointment's so early tomorrow morning. They won't be back til tomorrow. I got the house to myself."

A blush makes its way to my face so I look down at my lap, playing with my seat belt. "Is that a hint?"

"A hint at what?" He asks, grinning.

"I mean it's obvious that's what you wanna do. And I don't care, as long as I'm back by 12 on the money." I reply.

"Well then," He says, making a turn that will take us to his house. "Let's go home."

The closer we get to his house, the more nervous I get. The entire house to just us. Just me and him until like 11:45. We don't say anything at all until we pull up to the house. I guess both of us are nervous. We get outta the truck, Isaac leading the way, holding my hand behind his back. As we walk through the front door, my stomach starts doing cartwheels.

Isaac leads the way to his bedroom, where he sits down on the edge of the bed. I kick my shoes off and he does the same. I sit on his lap facing him, my legs straddling his. Suddenly, he laughs, saying, "Don't look so scared."

I give him a small smile, blushing. "I'm nervous."

He kisses my neck, traveling up until he reaches my mouth. "Don't be. Just follow my lead."

Before tonight, we'd never really had the opportunity to even think about going all the way. Sure, we'd both thought about it, but we'd never had the chance. Whenever we were at his house, either his parents or his brother were home. And obviously, whenever we were at my house Darry wouldn't let us outta his sight.

I'm really nervous, more than I'm letting on. The furthest I'd gone with a guy was making out. Isaac, on the other hand, had already gone all the way with a girl he'd dated a little over a year ago. Knowing that he has more experience than I do is both comforting and scary at the same time. Since he has more experience, all I have to do is follow his lead. But then again, it makes me more worried that I'll do something wrong and screw up.

At first, it's just the same as usual, nothing new, just making out. But then his hands go to the hem of my shirt and he's pulling it over my head and off my arms. He takes his shirt off, tossing it to the side. He locks eyes with me, standing me and him up, sliding his jeans down to his ankles and kicking them off. He slides his hand down the middle of my stomach, letting it rest on the button of my jeans. He pauses. "Ready?"

For a second, I think of Darry. I think of how I promised him I'd be careful. I think of what he would say if he knew his baby sister was about to lose her virginity. I think of how protective he is of me. But that second of hesitation is thrown to the curb as soon as Isaac kisses me again. My mind's made up. I nod my head, whispering, "As ready as I'll ever be."

After, we just lay there, his arms wrapped around me, my legs tangled in the sheets. I look at the clock, realizing it's only a little after ten.

"I think this is the happiest I've ever been." I say, a smile tugging at my lips. I can feel him shake as he laughs. He kisses my shoulder.

"I know." He replies. I roll over so I'm facing him, propping myself up on my elbow.

"What do we do now?" I ask.

Isaac smiles, getting out of the bed and collecting his clothes. "Um... You hungry?"

"I could always eat." I reply, smiling. I swing my legs outta bed, looking around the room to find my clothes. "Do you see my clothes anywhere?" I ask, laughing. Isaac sweeps the room with his eyes.

"I don't remember where I threw 'em." He winks at me. "Just wear something of mine until it's time to leave. I'm gonna go make some sandwiches, babe."

"Alright." I say, getting up and walking to his closet. I find my underwear hanging off his dresser, and put those on, silently laughing to myself. I look around the room again, but I don't see any of my other clothes. I get a flannel shirt from out of his closet, buttoning it up as I walk into the kitchen

"You want turkey and cheese?" He asks, handing me a plate with two slices of bread on it.

"Yep." I mutter, opening the fridge and grabbing the turkey and cheese. I smile as we fix our sandwiches side by side. "I feel like a married couple."

Isaac laughs, saying, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

I go over to the table with my sandwich, sitting down and drawing one knee to my chest. We eat our sandwiches and talk. We talk for over an hour about everything under the sun, joking with each other and playing poker. I laugh so hard I cry more than once, and I swear this is the best night of my life.

About 11:30, me and Isaac are both on our hands and knees looking for my damn bra. I'm already changed into my jeans, which we found under the edge of the bed, along with my shirt. But there was no way I was gonna wear that shirt with no bra, Darry would notice for sure. I have my head under the bed when I hear a car pulling into the driveway. I raise up, looking at Isaac. As Isaac walks to the window, I pray that it ain't somebody from the gang. They'd skin Isaac for sure if they came in here and found me in his shirt with the bed a mess and a condom wrapper on the floor. My heart beats like a drum until I see Isaac's face relax as he recognizes who's on the porch.

"It's just Jay." He says quietly, relieved. A couple seconds later there's a knock on the door, and Isaac walks outta the room to let him in. I'm almost finished making the bed when Jay and Isaac head past the doorway, going to the living room.

"Oh, hey Novie." Jay says, eying me. I wave at him, not really saying anything. Because honestly, I'd never cared for James Bowman. He was cocky, mean, he ran his mouth all the time, and he'd probably laid half the Greaser girls in town. In truth, he was like most Greasers except ten times worse. Most of the gang couldn't stand 'em, and whenever he was around, somebody usually stood in front of me. Just to make clear that he wasn't gonna try nothing with me. But Isaac and him had been friends forever, even though he got on Isaac's nerves just as much as anybody elses. I straighten out the last corner of the bedspread, looking around the room for any other spot my bra might be. We'd already checked the bed, under the bed, the closet, and it was nowhere to be seen. I take a step towards the door, but I stop short when I hear Jay talking.

"So you want me to believe that y'all just been talking the whole time she's been here?" Jay asks, disbelief obvious in his voice.

"No," Isaac replies, his tone serious. "I'm just saying, it ain't none of your business what we do."

Jay snorts, and I imagine him rolling his eyes. "So she was just randomly making the bed and wearing your shirt? Your hair randomly looks that screwed up?" He laughs. "Man, you ain't even got no grease in your hair. You screwed her."

"Shut up Jay. Don't you say nothing to anybody. If this gets back to her brothers, me and her are both dead." Isaac warns. I grit my teeth. The idea of Jay knowing something like that about me worries me. Ain't no way he can keep his mouth shut. I just hope if he does talk, he tells it to somebody who don't give a rat's ass.

I step out from the doorway of the room, boots in hand. I sit down on the couch, and notice how they lower their voices.

"We better go in a minute Isaac. I don't want Darry to worry." I remind him, looking again at the clock, which now says 11:42.

"He outta be worried." Jay says with a arrogant smirk.

"Shut the hell up Jay." I say, narrowing my eyes at him. Isaac walks over to me and then looks back at Jay.

"Come on Jay, time for you to leave."

"I've only been here for 5 minutes." He retorts, but still getting up and coming over to us.

"Well I ain't letting you stay here while I'm gone." Isaac says, turning out the lights as Jay and I walk down the steps. Jay heads to his car, waving to me and Isaac as he climbs in. I don't wave back.

I climb into the truck, crossing my arms over my chest. Isaac cranks the truck but he doesn't say anything until Jay's brake lights disappear around a curve.

"I'm sorry that he knows."He says, reaching over to grab my hand.

"Ain't your fault." I reply. "I guess it was sorta obvious, huh?" I ask him, smiling a little.

He laughs. "Yeah, I reckon it was."

By the time we pull up in front of my house, Isaac and I have figured out what to tell Darry if he asks about my shirt.

"So," I begin, taking a deep breath. "If Darry asks what happened to my shirt, I say that someone spilt beer all over it at the party and you had a extra flannel inside your truck, right?"

Isaac nods, looking convinced. "Alright, well you got five minutes til curfew." I lean in and kiss him, long and deep. When I pull away, we're both out of breath.

"Thanks for tonight. It was great Isaac." I say, blushing again.

He smiles at me, pushing a piece of hair behind my ear. "I love you Ember. I'll come by and see you soon."

"I love you too Isaac." We kiss one more time and I hop out of the truck. Walking up the stairs, I can barely keep the smile off my face. When I open the door, Darry's sitting in his chair, watching TV. He looks at the clock, a hint of a smile showing on his face.

"11:58. Good job being on time. You have fun?" He asks.

I nod. "Yeah, it was nice." I say honestly. I start to walk towards the bathroom, but as I suspected, Darry realizes before I get halfway there.

"What happened to your shirt?" He asks, his tone going down a notch on the seriousness scale. I turn back around to look at him, and I see that his eyes have narrowed, trying to see anything else that's different about my appearance.

"Some guy spilt beer all over my shirt. So Isaac had a extra flannel shirt in his truck so I changed into that." I explain, acting nonchalant.

"You didn't drink did you?" He asks.

"Nah, neither did Isaac." I reply. I pause. "Is the interrogation over?" I ask him with a smile.

He nods. "Go on to bed, you look tired."

"Night Darry, love you" I say, heading to the bathroom.

"Night baby, love you."

I go to mine and Pony's room first, getting a pair of Soda's old gym shorts and a t-shirt. I walk into the bathroom, washing my face and brushing my teeth, all the while thinking about Isaac.

I had never craved being with him this much. Who knew just one night with him could end this great. I change into my pajamas, and walk into the bedroom. Pony rolls over, looking at me. "Hey Ember. How's the party?" He asks.

"Amazing." I reply, crawling underneath the covers. "Night Pony."

"Night girl."

And even though I'm exhausted, I can't sleep. I keep thinking about everything that happened tonight. I know that it'll be the last thing that I think about at night, and the first thing I think about when I wake up tomorrow morning.


	2. Chapter 2

"It was weird yeah, but it was nice." I say to my best friend Kim, telling her about Friday night. We're walking from our last class of the day to our lockers. Other than me and Isaac, Kim was the only one who knew. I trusted her more than anyone, besides Darry and them, but I obviously wasn't gonna tell them.

"So, your brothers don't know?" Kim asks as I turn the combination lock, getting the books I need for homework.

I shoot her a funny look, laughing. "_Right_. Cause I want Isaac to end up dead."

Kim laughs with me, shaking her head. "You don't think Darry would be real mad do you?"

We head to her locker as I consider what she asked. "I mean, everyone knows that Soda and Sandy do it, and Darry doesn't care about him. Honestly he doesn't have the right to say anything."

Kim raises her eyebrows. "So he shouldn't care that his baby sister lost her virginity?"

"I know he would care, Kim. I just think that if he were to get mad, it wouldn't be fair considering I'm doing exactly what him and Soda probably did when they were my age."

We walk outside, both of us looking for our rides. "You have a point." She says. "But they're supposed to be super protective of you, you're the baby of the family and the only girl."

"Let's just pray Darry doesn't find out and I won't have to worry about it." I reply, laughing.

Kim starts walking away, heading towards her brothers approaching car. "I'll just pray that Isaac stays in one piece if Darry does find out." She laughs, waving, as she gets into Greg's car. I wave back, looking around to find Isaac. I sit down on the curb, and wait. And wait. Within around a half hour, I'm the only one left waiting for a ride. There are other cars in the parking lot, but those are just teachers and kids who play sports. I wait about 10 more minutes and get up, losing my patience. I start walking home. I would call Darry or Soda or even Two-Bit for a ride but everyone's busy today. That's why Isaac was _supposed_ to drive me home.

The whole time I'm walking home, I'm wondering where the hell Isaac's at. I know that I'm overreacting. He probably just got hung up after school or had to leave early or had to go do something right after school. It wasn't like him to forget me though, in fact he never had. He wouldn't even think about letting me walk home from school alone. I would walk with Pony, but he's at track practice.

It's still light out so I'm not really worried. I only have to walk past a couple of Soc houses, and even then I'll be able to see my neighborhood. I just hope that Darry's still working by the time I get back, or he'll flip if he finds out I walked home alone.

I turn around as a car slows down beside me. The passenger window rolls down and I'm looking at Jay. I sigh as he flings open the passenger door."Hop in Novie." I pause for a second, wondering if I should or not. I know that Jay makes Darry and the guys nervous, just because of his reputation with girls, but I think they'd rather me ride with Jay then walk home alone.

I shut the door behind me as I sit down. At first there's an awkward silence, but then Jay speaks up. "Isaac wanted to make sure you got a ride home."

I look over at him, asking, "Why couldn't Isaac get me?"

He hesitates, clearly deciding what he should say. "Jay, where's he at?" I ask, worrying.

"He's just busy tonight Novie, don't worry." He says, smirking.

"Busy doing what?" I press.

"I don't know Novie, he didn't say. He just told me to make sure you got home alright." Jay replies, looking amused.

But I'm not buying it. "So he had time to tell you to come get me, but he didn't have time to tell you where he was going?" I ask him, raising my eyebrows.

"Damn November, just be glad you gotta ride. I was hanging out at the diner, Isaac drove up and asked me to go get you. That's all I know." He explains, turning into our side of town.

"Bullshit." I mutter under my breath.

Jay laughs. "Maybe he's getting prepared for another night like last Friday."

"Shut the hell up." I say, annoyed. "You better watch your trap Jay, I don't want the whole world to know about my sex life."

"Or lack thereof." Jay says back. I gape at him.

"Don't think you're so tuff just because you've slept with half the broads in the town Jay."

"You just wish you were included on my list." He replies, smiling, as we pull up to my house.

"Like hell I do." I say, getting outta the car before it's even stopped. I walk up the steps as Jay drives away, beeping the horn. Walking into the house, I'm surprised to see Soda sprawled on the couch. I'm only a half hour later than usual, but he still notices.

"What took you so long?" He asks, sitting up with his hair standing on end.

"I had to get a ride home with Jay." I say, setting my books down and walking into the kitchen. Soda trails in behind me as I pull a pack of hotdogs and french fries from the freezer to defrost.

"You mean you got in Jay Bowman's car of your own free will?" He asks, looking blown away. Because Soda knew just as well as everyone else how much I disliked Jay. So hearing me say that I'd hitched a ride with him was... ridiculous.

"Oh trust me Soda, I didn't want to. It was either that or walk home alone." I say. He shoots me a look.

"I thought Darry said Isaac was driving you home?" He asks.

"He was." I say, averting my eyes so he can't tell that I'm still confused about that. "He didn't show up so I started walking home. Then Jay found me and offered me a ride. He said that Isaac was busy with something and had told him to come pick me up."

Soda raises his eyebrows. "He didn't bother you did he?"

"No, he ain't that dumb. He made some of his typical wise ass comments but I just tried to ignore him." I reply, shaking my head.

We keep talking about Jay, and him and Sandy until Pony comes in from track practice, Darry on his heels.

I get the hotdogs and fries outta the oven while Soda sets the table. Darry's so sore from roofing he doesn't even get off the couch to eat. He lays there on his stomach, chowing down.

Sitting around the table, with Soda cracking jokes so often I can barely take a bite of food without coming close to choking, it feels normal, like a family. But Mom and Dad's empty chairs are almost all you can see sometimes. One second, you're completely happy and worrying about homework or how supper tastes a little bit burnt, but then you see those chairs, and it's like a slap in the face every time.

"Is Isaac picking you up after school?" Darry asks me the next morning as I eat breakfast.

"Probably, unless something comes up." I say, glad that Soda ain't saying anything about yesterday.

"Isaac's here Ember!" Pony yells from the living room.

"Bye Dar." I say, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. He grabs my arm as I gather my books.

"Make sure you're home a little earlier today, alright? I need you to start cleaning in case the social service people come by soon. It's been about a month since they came." He says, waiting for me to acknowledge him.

"Alright, I'll be home around 4:30 okay?" He nods, and I know that he's thanking me in advance. I know that Darry feels bad about me cooking and cleaning and doing a lot of the house stuff, but I really don't mind. Him and Soda both work and Pony has track, so I'm really the only one who has a lot of free time outside of school. Sometimes it gets on my nerves, but then I remember how much shit Darry has on his plate. So, I'm used to it.

"Sorry I didn't pick you up yesterday." Isaac apologizes on the way to school.

"It's fine." I mutter, taking note of how quiet he is this morning. Completely unlike him. "Um... so why couldn't you get me?"

"I had to run some errands for Mom. With Roger being stuck at home for a couple days, she can't go out and get stuff. I have to do it again after school." He explains, not even hesitating a little bit.

"Oh..." I say, feeling beyond stupid that I worried so much. But Isaac almost seems mad at me, like I did something wrong.

"What?" He asks, hearing the different tone in my voice. He glances over at me, almost smiling. But not really.

"Jay." I reply, by way of definition. I know he'll understand exactly what I mean. He sighs, saying, "Just ignore him Ember. Half the shit that comes outta his mouth is lies."

I smile. "I know. He just made it seem like I shouldn't know what you were doing or something. I guess I just overreacted." I confess as we pull into the parking lot.

"You worry too much."

We walk into school, hand in hand, and I know that everything's fine. The bad feeling I had in my stomach yesterday when I started worrying about where Isaac had went is now gone.

Let's just hope it stays that way. Worry free.


	3. Chapter 3

The next couple days go by the same. Isaac picks me up in the morning, we go to school, I see him like 3 times during the day, I get a ride home from Darry or Jay. Repeat. It starts getting to me. He's acting so weird and I have no idea why. Every time I ask him if everything's okay he blows the question off by kissing me or acting nonchalant. Friday night comes and we don't have anything planned. He told me he had to go out and get stuff for his brother's birthday tomorrow.

So now me and Darry are driving home in silence. I had thought I'd been doing a pretty good job of hiding how I felt, but Darry knows me.

"Listen Ember, you've been acting sorta off lately." He hesitates. "Everything okay?" Even though Darry knows me the best, sometimes he has absolutely no clue what's wrong with me or how to handle it. There was only ever one person who completely understood me.

When I don't say anything, he presses on. "I know I ain't Mom." My breath catches. I used to tell Mom everything. Whether it was big or small, I would tell her. "And I'm sorry she's not here for you to talk to. But you know you can talk to me. About anything." I wait for more, for him to ask me again what's wrong, but he doesn't. He lets me decide whether I wanna talk about it or not. The floor's open.

"Isaac's been acting weird lately." I admit. I can feel his eyes on me, probably because he's surprised I'm actually talking about it.

"Why ain't he picking you up after school anymore?" He asks, and I can tell he's choosing what he says carefully.

"His Mom has him running errands everyday after school because she's at home with Roger."

"So.. do you not believe him or...?"Darry asks.

I think before I say anything. "I believe him. But he's still acting weird. He's been distant and I don't know why. I'm just confused."

Darry puts his hand on my shoulder, rubbing it. "Don't worry baby, he'll come around."

I guess truthfully, I'm scared he's keeping his distance because of last Friday. But I trust him and I love him. So for now, I just gotta keep my head on straight and stop stressing.

"So what are you doing tonight?" He asks me as we pull in front of our house.

"Nothing with Isaac if that's what you mean." I reply. "But I'm going to the diner tonight with Kim and a couple other people for supper."

"How late are you gonna be?" He asks, stepping back into the parental position.

"Not too late, probably around 9. No later than 10 for sure."

We walk through the front door and into the deserted house. I don't have any homework so I start cleaning up a little bit, because who else is gonna do it? I head to the back of the house first, sweeping in Soda and Pony's room and then in Darry's. From the kitchen I hear a sigh, so I poke my head around the corner so I can see Darry but I can't be seen. He has his head in his hands, money and folds of paper spread across our tiny kitchen table.

Going from being a nineteen year old guy to a 'dad' would take its toll on anybody. In the daytime, Darry just works, and I guess he could almost forget what he has to deal with at home. But when he gets here, he has to take his and Soda's small wages and try to pay all our bills and still be able to buy food and other necessities. It's not fair. No nineteen year old should have to take care of all three of his siblings and throw away his dreams to make money. Darry had definitely received the short end of the stick.

"Everything okay Dar?" I ask quietly, sweeping down the short hall and into the living room.

"Yeah." He says, a little too quickly. "Yeah, it's fine." I choose not to push him, but now's obviously not the time. To say that money stressed Darry out was a major understatement.

The front door slams as Pony trails in, blushing. I grin, and I can't help but say anything.

"What's up with you Pony?" I ask him.

Of course, he blows me off. I shouldn't of expected anything different.

"Nothing." He says, growing a little bit redder. Darry's watching him, grinning a little bit but not saying anything. "Is she pretty?" I ask, heading into the kitchen with the broom.

"As good looking as any broad I've ever seen." He says, smirking. Darry chuckles, smacking him on the back of the head.

The phone rings and I make my way to the wall, grabbing the receiver. For some unsaid reason, I always answer the phone. I guess maybe I just sound friendlier?

"Hello?" I say.

"Novie, it's Kim."

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Wanna make some money?" She asks.

The diner's crowded, with most of the tables full and the bar even more crowded. Kim works part time at the diner as a waitress after school. She'd overheard her boss talking about how they needed some entertainment, and she'd asked him if he was interested in having someone sing. So she'd called me. I'd agreed as soon as the words left her mouth. How could I turn down basically free money? Okay, so it _technically _wasn't free, but I loved to sing and people said I was really good, so I was gonna get paid to do something I loved.

Her boss, Mr. Skiver, is gonna pay me somewhere between five and ten dollars, depending on how well the crowd reacts plus tips. I couldn't turn it down, we needed every extra dime we could get.

Mr. Skiver comes up to me, smiling. "You ready?" He asks.

I take a deep breath, nodding. He'd already explained that he's gonna play songs that I know good enough to not mess up. I'm gonna sing near the back of the diner, right beside the bar but still where the other tables at the front could see and hear me. I walk to my spot, the music plays, I lean into the microphone and start singing.

During the first song, I see the group of friends me and Kim were supposed to meet sit at a table close to me. It goes good. I don't mess up with any of the songs and people actually clap.

I'm in the middle of the last song, _At Last, _by Etta James, when I see Jay making his way towards me. I shoot Kim a look. She's sitting with Dave, Mikey, Lauren, and Donna since her shift ended a couple minutes ago.

"Novie!" Jay slurs, standing right in front of me. I keep singing, trying desperately not to get distracted. But Jay's grabbing my arm and tugging on my skirt, trying to get me away from the mike.

"Jay, cut it out." I murmur, pushing his hands away, obviously having to cut the song short.

"I need to talk to you." The smell of alcohol slamming right into me.

"Stop it. You're drunk Jay."

Kim makes her way over to us. "Jay, I think you should leave." She says seriously.

He grabs my arm again. "Not until I talk to Novie." He says stubbornly.

Mr. Skiver comes up to Kim and I, placing a hand on each of our shoulders. "Everything all right ladies?" He asks, eying Jay's hand on my arm.

Kim nods, eyes narrowed. "Yeah, Jay was just leaving."

"Not until I talk to November dammit." He says, slamming his fist down on the table beside us. People turn their heads, staring at the drunk guy. I can see that this is going nowhere, so I step in.

"I was gonna leave anyways, Mr Skiver." I say, forcing a smile at him and Kim. "I'll make sure he leaves." I whisper.

Mr. Skiver nods, smiling at me. "Thanks for singing tonight. You were great." He presses a wad of dollar bills in my hands. "Maybe you can do it again sometime?"

"I hope so." I reply. "Thanks Mr. Skiver. I really appreciate it."

Although Kim looks worried, I walk out of the diner with Jay in tow.

"Alright." I start. "What's so goddamn important?"

We walk for a minute or two in silence in the direction of my house before he says anything.

"Listen." He says, struggling to maintain eye contact. "You know Isaac's my friend, right?"

"Yes, James." I say, annoyed. He comes to a halt, grabbing my arm yet again.

"I think he's lying to you."

My heart stops for like half a second. He had just said exactly what I wasn't allowing myself to think. But I knew just as well as everyone else that Jay couldn't necessarily be trusted. Especially when he was drunk. Like Isaac had told me the other day, half the shit that comes outta Jay's mouth is a lie.

"Excuse me?"

"Come on Novie, you know what I mean." He sighs. "Listen, I know Isaac. He's been weird lately. I think something's up." He's leaning closer now, getting in my face. "I don't want you to get hurt."

I was starting to worry until he said that last sentence. Now I know that this is all a load of bull.

"You..." I try saying around a chuckle. "You're drunk as hell. So I'm gonna go call my brother." I start to walk away, but he grabs the only thing that's in his reach, which happens to be my skirt. The skirt, which was already a couple inches above my knee, is now ripped clean up to the waistband. Shit.

"Damn it Jay." I holler, trying to hold it together. Obviously I don't get a sincere apology, since he's a badass Greaser. He cracks up, laughing so hard he has to prop his hand against the wall behind us so he won't fall. But that's partially because he's drunk.

"That definitely won't be the last skirt I rip." He winks at me, laughing again at his own joke.

"Asshole." I mutter, walking away towards the pay phone. After I call Darry, I plop down to sit on the bus bench.

"Think about what I said." Jay says, sitting down beside me.

I jump. I hadn't heard him come up behind me. "Jesus Jay. Just go on somewhere."

"I will when you stop being a bitch. Just trust me on this one Novie, okay?"

"You know, I'm really starting to consider the option that maybe you're bipolar? Maybe you should try therapy." I say, only half joking.

He chuckles. "I didn't mean to rip your skirt, not that I regret it." I roll my eyes. "But seriously November, he's been off lately. I'm just giving you a fair warning."

"Jay, I appreciate the thought, but I trust Isaac. Yeah, he's been acting weird, but that doesn't mean he's lying."

He sighs, saying, "Whatever Novie. But don't come crying to me if something happens."

"I ain't gonna go crying to nobody because nothing's gonna happen." I retort. He stands up, realizing that I'm not gonna budge.

"I'll see you around November. Good luck." He says, walking away crookedly.

I wouldn't trust Jay if my life depended on it, but I still think about what he said. He really has a lot of nerve. Telling me that my boyfriend's lying, ripping my skirt almost off, then just leaving like it's no big deal. I guess that's what beer does to ya.

I'm relieved when I see headlights coming down the street.

Before I even have a chance to get in the truck, Darry flips shit. "What the hell happened to your skirt?" He asks, his eyes huge.

"Don't worry Dar, just Jay." I reply, buckling my seat belt.

He gapes. "So you expect me to not say anything when you get in the truck in basically just your panties?"

I laugh. "First, you can only see like an inch of my underwear. Second, he didn't mean to Darry. He was drunk, I tried going one way, he reached for me, grabbed my skirt, and rip. It's fine Darry."

He seems more calm now, but he still hasn't let his guard down. "Is that all that happened?"

I nod. "I made..." I reach into my pocket, pulling out the money and counting it. "Holy crap! I made 24 bucks just off of singing."

Darry grins, looking happy. "Good job Ember."

For the rest of the night, I can't get Isaac out of my head. I don't believe Jay at all. But I can't help but wonder.


	4. Chapter 4

**(Thanks to everyone who's reviewing!(: I really appreciate it. I know the last couple **

**of chapters have been sorta boring, this one will be better, hopefully:P R&R please! And again, sorry it's taking me awhile to update, I couldn't figure out what was gonna happen next, I had 10 different scenarios to choose from haha)**

"Rise and shine Ember." Someone says right into my ear. I roll over, expecting Darry or Soda since those are the only two who would actually wake me up quietly. But instead, I see Isaac, with the grin that I fell in love with planted on his face.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, sitting up to give him a kiss.

"To make it up to you for not being around much this week." He says.

"How are you gonna make it up to me?" I ask, grinning.

He smirks. "There's a bonfire tonight outside of Buck's place. Should be fun." He wiggles his eyebrows.

"Are we actually gonna go this time?" I ask with a laugh.

"I'd watch how loud I said that if I were you." Isaac says, glancing over towards my half open door.

I fake a gasp. "I'm sure he hasn't suspected it already. God knows he never fooled around when he was 16." I say sarcastically, trying to get out of the bed. But I only get as far as kicking the covers back before Isaac tackles me back down, pinning me against the bed. I laugh out loud, trying to get up.

"Get off me!" I yell, giggling.

"From what I recall, you like it." He says slyly. I blush, knowing that he's talking about last Friday. He kisses me deeply, rolling over so that I'm on top of him, straddling his lap. We stay like this for a couple minutes, but obviously nothing like this can last in a house full of guys. The silence of us not saying a word is broken by the obnoxiously loud crunching of someone biting into an apple. I turn towards the door so fast, I fall off Isaac's lap and into the floor.

Two-Bit stands there grinning from ear to ear. "Hey Darry!" He hollers, walking into the living room.

"Keith Matthews!" I yell, running after him with Isaac behind me.

Darry's standing in the kitchen with a frying pan in his hand, waiting for Two-Bit to explain. I jump on Two-Bit's back just as he starts explaining, but that don't stop him.

"Them two might procreate before you do Darry." Two-Bit says, and I can't help but laugh. I sorta hesitate though, hopping off Two-Bit's back, and keeping my eye on Darry to gauge his reaction.

"Procreate?" I say, really shocked. I wrap my arms around his neck, putting him in a fake choke hold. "Damn Two-Bit, I didn't know your vocabulary range was so big." I hop off his back, winking at him.

"They better not." Darry says, waving the pan towards Isaac, but still with a smile. "I'll skin both of y'all alive if she gets pregnant before she graduates."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Two-Bits mutters, walking to the living room. That remark earns him a slap to the back of his head.

Isaac had left a couple hours ago, promising to be back to pick me up after supper. Two-Bit, Johnny, and Pony are out in town right now, doing God knows what. I'd told them I had 'homework' to do, which wasn't technically a lie , so they had left without questioning me. So now it was time to do the dirty work. Sneak into Darry's room before anyone got back.

I'd asked Isaac before he left what we were gonna do at Buck's and he had said that he wasn't sure. I'd flirted back, and asked, "Anything like last Friday?". He'd acted a tad bit embarrassed and said that we couldn't because he didn't have any condoms. So he'd asked me if I had any. So I was gonna go in Darry's room and see if I could find any. I was happy. Knowing that he wanted to do it again meant that all my worrying over the past week had been pointless. My fears that Isaac had been avoiding me because I was terrible in bed were proven wrong. Thank God.

As soon as Pony and the guys leave, I head to Darry's room. I have at least 20 minutes or so until Darry, Steve, and Soda get in from work. Darry's room is near spotless with the bed made and no clothes in sight. _If I were Darry, where would I keep my condoms?_

I start with the drawers, looking underneath all his clothes, but I come up empty-handed. I look under his bed next. There are a couple of boxes, the first containing pictures of the family. The first picture is my absolute favorite of our entire family. Mom and Dad are hugging, their eyes focused on the camera. Darry stands to their left, one arm around Mom's shoulders and the other around mine, his eyes half-closed from laughing as he looks over at Soda. Pony and Soda stand to Mom and Dad's right, both grinning from ear to ear. Soda looks back at Darry, and Pony's focused on the camera as well. This is when we were all in school and Darry didn't have to work. The picture was taken a good year before Mom and Dad died. The picture was taken when we were all 100% happy, school and boyfriends/girlfriends being the biggest of our problems. A tear falls down my cheek, and I wipe it away, quickly closing the box and moving on the next.

But this box has papers, birth certificates, Mom and Dad's marriage certificate and some from the social service, agreeing to Darry being our legal guardian.

"Well damn..." I murmur, standing up and making my way over to the closet. Darry's a good-looking 20-year-old guy, he's bound to have condoms somewhere. At first, I find squat. Just an old pair of shoes, clothes, blah blah blah, but then I see a container type thing. I pull the top off of it and breath a sigh of relief. Good news: I've found what I'm looking for. Bad news: there's only 3 in here...so what if he notices that some are gone? I debate for a second, but finally just grab one and slide the box back into the closet, making sure that everything looks the same way that it was. I back outta the room, shoving the condom into my front pocket. The front door slams and I can only imagine how guilty I look.

"Hey Ember." Darry says, walking past me. My heart speeds up a little and I can feel my face heat up but I ignore it.

"Hey Dar." I mutter, sliding past Soda and Steve to go in my room. I crack the door, putting the condom into my purse while looking over my shoulder.

Pony comes in after we've already started eating supper. I look at Darry and know that he's gonna say something to him about being late.

"Where you been Pony?" Darry asks, taking a bite of the spaghetti me and him had made. Pony walks to the stove, fixes himself a plate and plops down in his seat beside me. He doesn't answer for a second, instead twirling his fork around some noodles, and I can't help but worry what he's got himself into now. I pray that whatever it is, it don't involve the fuzz.

"Just hanging out with Hannah." He says casually, and you can see Darry relax.

"Who's Hannah?" Darry asks, looking amused.

"This girl in my history class."

Soda jumps in, smirking. "How was _hanging out?_"

Ponyboy laughs and so does Darry. "It was fun." I'm shocked that that's all he has to say about. You would think that he would wanna brag about how good-looking she was or something. We all just look at him, silent.

"I ain't gonna give y'all details if that's what you're waiting on." He says, laughing. So we don't push him to talk. The normal supper conversations pick up and Pony looks a lot more comfortable.

Before I know it, Isaac's knocking on the door. I jump off the couch, opening the door as Isaac pulls me into a hug.

"Hey." He says quietly, stepping into the living room. I grab his hand and lead him back to my bedroom.

"November." Darry says sternly.

"I'm just getting my stuff." I say back, rolling my eyes. Darry wouldn't care as much if Soda wanted to take a girl into his room. Yeah, he wouldn't be happy, but he wouldn't get on his back about it. Since Darry does the same thing. I crack the door and Isaac goes to sit on the bed.

"Are you wearing that?" He asks me, gesturing at my outfit.

"What's wrong with it?" I ask, looking down at myself. I have on a skirt with a v-neck shirt.

Isaac laughs. "Nothing. You just look like a Soc is all."

Ouch. The skirt I'm wearing is definitely not anything a Soc would wear. Mine's a lot shorter, but not too short that people think I have no respect for myself. The shirt's completely fine. I go to my closet, trying not to let him see the hurt expression on my face. I pull out one of my only pairs of jeans and a shirt that's more... _greaser _material. I change into them quickly and turn to face him.

"Much better." He says, standing up and kissing me. "Did you get it?" He whispers.

I nod into his chest. I grab my purse from the floor and pull the condom out, so he believes me.

"Good girl." He gives me a small smile and leads me back into the living room. I can see Darry's expression change when he notices that I've changed clothes. His jaw tightens and I wait for him to say something. But he doesn't. Wow.

"Bye y'all." I wave to Pony and Darry as we walk to the front door. Soda was getting ready to go out to another party with Steve and his girlfriend.

"Don't forget your curfew." Darry reminds me.

"I won't."

Parties at Buck's are always crazy. There're always couples occupying the bedrooms, there's always drunk people, there're always fights. Withing twenty minutes of being there, my ass has been slapped twice, I've drank 2 beers and I can't find Isaac.

I look around the house, but don't see him. I might as I well check at the bonfire, at least to just get some fresh air. I walk around the back of the house, sorta shocked at how many people are here. The bonfire's huge, in the middle of an empty field. I see one of Isaac's friends, Q, and go up to him.

"Hey Q, you seen Isaac?" I ask. He looks confused for a second and I suppress a smile. His real name's Zechariah. Obviously Q isn't a normal nickname for Zechariah, it makes about as much sense as calling Keith Two-Bit. We call him Q because he's _always _confused. Always hesitant. He asks questions about everything, even though half the time he knows the answer.

"Uh, yeah, I think over by Jay's pickup. But I'm not sure." He answers, giving me a shrug as he takes another drink of his beer.

"Alright, thanks."

The truck's parked right off to the side of the fire, the tailgate down and a cooler of beer being the main reason for so many people over here.

"Hey babe! Ember!" Isaac yells from where he's perched on the back of the truck, Jay sitting beside him with some broad I've never seen on his lap. I climb into the back of the truck and Isaac pulls me onto his lap, not even giving me a chance to say anything before he forces his tongue in my mouth. I push on his chest a little and he slowly pulls away from me.

"Damn Isaac, calm down." I say, chuckling. I can tell he takes it the wrong way from the look on his face. Jay and a couple of other guys laugh, and I can see Isaac's face darkening.

"I just mean I ain't going nowhere." I clarify.

"I'll do whatever I want." He states, his drunk voice as serious as I've ever heard it. His hand goes up the front of my shirt and he's grabbing me, being really rough. I shove him again.

"Isaac, stop." His hands keep probing me and I slap him. Not hard, just enough to get him to stop. He freezes. He stands up, grabbing me tightly by the arms and walking to the edge of the truck, jumping off. I follow, only because he's still holding me. We walk away from the bonfire until nobody notices us.

"What the hell was that?" He asks me, his voice rough.

"I told you to stop and you didn't." I reply, sounding more sure of myself than I actually am.

"You're my girlfriend! You're supposed to want me to do stuff like that." He growls.

I sigh. "Isaac you know I want you to, but not when you're being so damn rough. And especially in front of everybody, people'll talk."

"I don't give a shit what people think about me." He says angrily.

"I just don't want anything to get back to Darry." I say, sighing. This is absolutely pointless to argue about, he won't even remember this tomorrow morning.

"You think I'm afraid of your brother?"

"Isaac, don't put words in my mouth." I say back. The look in his eyes is sorta scary. I take a couple of small steps back, just in case he gets madder. "Listen, just forget it okay? Let's go ba-"

He grabs my arms, closing the space I'd just put between us. "I'll do what I wanna do. You know that right?" Even though it sounds like a question, I know that there's only one answer.

"Yeah." I mumble, trying not to make eye contact. He squeezes tighter.

"Isaac stop. Darry'll see the bruises." My breathing increases and I'm tearing up. He's scaring me.

"You don't know what you want!" He says with a drunken laugh. He shoves his hand down the front of my jeans. I struggle against him as he forces his finger down there. I don't want to do this when he's drunk. Especially after the way he's been talking, even if he doesn't mean any of it.

I bring my knee up, hard. He folds over and I try to break away from him but his grip's strong.

"Isaac!" I scream, crying.

Boom. My eye swells almost instantly from the force behind the blow. As he stars down at his hand in shock, I take my chance and draw my fist back. Right into his nose, knocking him to the ground.

I don't think. I just walk away quickly, keeping my head down. I'm numb... mentally and physically. Why do people who claim they love you do stuff like that?

Walking into Buck's, no one says anything about my battered face. I pick up the phone and dial my number.

"Hello?" Ponyboy.

"Hey Pony, can you tell Darry or Soda to come get me?" I ask.

"We thought Isaac would drop you off."

My throat clenches. "He ain't sober enough. Can you just tell Darry to come?"

"They ain't here Ember. Soda went out with Steve and Evie and some other chick and Darry just left a little while ago to go out to a bar with a couple of guys he used to play football with."

Damn it. "Alright. Um... I'll just get a ride from somebody here. Bye Pony." I hang the phone up. The chance of finding someone sober enough to drive me home was about as slim as finding a white bunny in a snowstorm.

I search for a good 15 minutes, asking around. I answer all questions about my eye with, "I tripped outside." Not my best excuse, but it'll have to do. Finally, I find someone sitting by themselves at the bar.

"Dally." I say, making sure that my voice doesn't waver. He spins around on his stool, looking annoyed. But when he sees my face, I see concern flash through his eyes.

"Holy shit Ember! What the fuck happened to you?"

"I tripped outside, landed right on my face. My luck, right?" I try to make it sound as believable as possible. I can tell that he doesn't believe me, but he doesn't push me, instead acting as if he believes my pathetic excuse for a lie.

"Whattya need, kid?" He asks, taking a drag on his cigarette.

"Only a ride home."

He sighs. "Alright, meet me outside. The car's parked right out front. Gimme a minute." He gets up, walking through the crowd of people and going upstairs.

I go out to the car, silently praying that I get home before Darry and Soda so I can at least think about what I'm gonna tell them.

As Dally drives me home, I hold a cold beer that he brought me to my eye. I don't know what I'm gonna do. I don't know whether to protect myself or Isaac.


	5. Chapter 5

I walk into the house, silently thanking God that Darry and Soda are gone. Or at least I think so, seeing as how the truck ain't here. I brace myself for the concerned yells and questions that'll be sure to come from my brothers... but there's only silence. Thank God.

I move through the house to my bedroom. I slowly peel my shirt and jeans off, wincing as I stretch the muscles I musta strained too much trying to fight Isaac off. I step into some shorts and an old t-shirt; who they belong to I have no idea. I go use the bathroom, at first avoiding the mirror. As I'm washing my hands... I can't help but look up.

I small gasp escapes my lips as I take in my black eye. It's way worse than I thought. The area all around my eye, ranging from my eyebrow down into my cheek, is black and blue and swollen. So swollen I barely even look like myself. I can barely even see outta that eye and it's only been less than an hour since it happened. I lift up the sleeve of my t-shirt, remembering how tightly he grabbed me. I ain't surprised to see small bruises forming, knowing that they'll get bigger as the night goes on. I hold it together until I get to my bed. As soon as my head hits the pillow, the tears start flowing. Isaac had actually hit me.

Just because I'd told him to stop.

Just because I didn't wanna be grabbed when he was talking shit and drunk as I've ever seen him.

Granted, I was a little bit buzzed too, but not that much. I try not to think too much about what's gonna happen when I wake up. What's gonna happen the second my brothers see my face. What they're gonna do to Isaac. I just close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

"November! Wake up!" Someone yells from the living room. I sit up, my head spinning. At first, I'm stuck in that amazing moment where you forget everything that happened the night before.

But of course... after a second or two it all comes rushing back. The bonfire. Isaac. The things he said. The punch. Dally driving me home. Everything comes back at once, and I don't know whether it's the hangover or the realization that everything that happened last night was real... but suddenly I have to sprint to the bathroom, barely even making it to the toilet in time.

I'd always hated throwing up; every time I did, I cried. So now wasn't any different. I throw up two more times and I keep crying. But it's not just because I've thrown up. I just feel so... hurt and confused.

They hear me. I sit there for maybe a minute longer by myself before I hear someone come to the door. I instinctively turn to see who it is. Sodapop stands there, his face in shock as he sees the bruises on my face.

"Darry!"

"Tell me exactly what happened. The truth this time."

I'm sitting on the couch, holding a ice pack to my eye, surrounded by my brothers. I had already tried lying about it. I tried telling them I fell and somehow landed on my eye. They weren't convinced. I might as well just tell em, because sooner or later they were gonna find out.

"Isaac got mad at me. It was my fault though, I was sorta being a bitch." Even I can hear the lie in my voice.

"Bullshit." Pony says, his eyebrows drawn together.

"I don't believe that for a second, Ember." Soda adds. But Darry just sits there, staring straight at me, waiting for me to tell the truth. I sigh shakily.

"He was being really rough. I told him to stop, that I wasn't going nowhere. He got mad."

"Whattya mean, being really rough?" Darry asks quietly.

I hesitate. "He was grabbing me, nothing really bad. I just didn't want anyone to see and go back and tell y'all. I finally slapped him a little, but it just made things worse. He grabbed my arms and pulled me away from everybody else. He was just talking shit, saying how he could do whatever he wanted, when he wanted, regardless of what other people said. And..." I don't know how to explain the rest. I mean, under normal circumstances Isaac getting in my pants was okay. I let him because it's you know...just what he's "supposed" to do. But it was different last night, and Darry would understand that.

"What happened after that Ember?" Pony presses, his voice low.

Despite everything, I feel my face heat up. I don't meet any of their eyes, afraid of what they'll say.

"He put his hand down my pants." I mutter.

"Down your pants?" Darry asks, strongly. I almost smile because of how shocked he sounds; he definitely doesn't know everything else we've done. But then I realize if Darry thinks me and Isaac had never done anything like that then he's gonna be even _more_ pissed at him.

"Yeah, but I mean..." I take a deep breath. "He's done it before, but I didn't want to last night. Not after the way he'd been talking and how wasted he was. I was afraid he was gonna try more and I just didn't want to Darry so I kneed him. I wasn't thinking, I shouldn't of done it, I just freaked out and then he hit me. And then I punched him and left. But I swear Dar, he didn't mean-"

"Do _not _defend him!" Darry yells as he stands up. I shrink back at his raised voice and I start to tear up. Darry sighs. "November I ain't mad at you. I just don't see how after what he did to you last night, you're still gonna say he didn't mean to. It don't make sense, I mean for God's sake, look at your face."

"I'm okay, Darry. It ain't that bad."

"Ember, I know you love him, but he hit you. I don't care if he didn't mean to, he still did it." Soda says, his eyes filled with worry.

"Y'all don't understand." I say, looking down at my hands wringing together.

"November... I don't know if y'all should date anymore." Darry says quietly. I stand up as soon as the words leave his mouth.

"No. Darry please, no." I start crying and now I'm _begging_ him. "Darry, please. It'll never happen again, I promise. Just trust me. I don't wanna lose him."

He doesn't say anything; he just walks over and pulls me into a hug, sitting down on the couch. I'm cradled in his lap and I just bawl and bawl.

(**Darry's POV)**

**Seeing her freak out so much just at me mentioning her and Isaac breaking up shuts me up for a while. I'm just trying to think about what's best for her. Some guy beating on her when he's drunk is definitely **_**not **_**what she needs. **

** We sit there pretty much all day and I'm so glad I'm off from work today or I don't know what I'd do. Soda and Steve are at work and Pony took off somewhere with Johnny.**

** November barely says anything. She doesn't eat anything and the only time she goes to the bathroom is when she throws up again. Two-Bit shows up later, having heard about what happened from Dally. I ease her head off my lap and me and Two-Bit go outside to talk. **

** "How's she doing?" Two-Bit asks, the smirk that's always on his face nowhere to be seen.**

** I shake my head and say, "She was defending him when she first explained what happened. I tried to tell her that maybe they shouldn't date anymore and she was hysterical Two-Bit. She ain't said much since."**

** "We outta beat his ass from here to next week." Two-Bit mutters angrily. The thought had crossed my mind more than once, but I just couldn't risk getting in trouble with the police. Isaac's a minor and I'm twenty; heck they might would charge me with assault. He notices when I don't say nothing. "What about you man? You doing alright?"**

** I walk over to the porch railing, gripping it hard. "Just the idea of him forcing his hands on her like _that _makes me wanna kill em. It's a different story if she wants it. But if Ember asked him to stop, he shoulda listened."**

** I see him grit his teeth. "You mean he tried...?" I nod, knowing that he understands what I mean. "That asshole." Two-Bit mutters. **

** "I don't know what to do." **

** "She's a tough kid, Dar. She'll be alright." **

** "I know." I reply. "I mean Isaac. I think I should go talk to him, lay down some new rules."**

**I glance over at him, and I don't even have to ask. **

** "I'll go with ya. Just in case he decides to be a dumbass."**

**We walk inside to November, who's actually sitting up on the couch, reading a book. She turns her head as we walk in and she gives us a small smile. **

**But her eye looks _terrible. _She can't even see out of it today; it's huge and swollen and black and blue with bruises. Every time I see it, a new flood of anger hits me. I hate Isaac. **

** "Hey Ember, we're gonna go out for a little while so-" But she doesn't let me finish. Her voice is quiet but it has a lot of feeling behind.**

** "I know that he hurt me... just don't hurt him." She gets up and walks into her room. **

** We knock on Isaac's door, expecting him to be here after his _rough _night. Two-Bit stands behind me and we wait for a second before the door opens.**

** "Oh hey Darrel, come on in." Isaac's mom, Jenny, says with a smile. **

** "No thanks Jenny, I can't stay. I just came to talk to Isaac, if he's here?" **

** She laughs. "Well he ain't home now, believe it or not. I think he went off with Jay. Now where they went I have no idea." **

** "Oh, well..." I stop for a second, not really knowing what to say. "Can you tell him that I need to talk to him?"**

** Jenny takes in Two-Bit standing in the background and a look of panic flashes in her eyes. "Everything's alright isn't it Darrel?" **

** "Yes ma'am. We just need to talk about some things is all." **

** "Oh." She says suddenly, glancing over her shoulder. "I think I know what you're talking about, hold on, I'll be right back." She cracks the door and goes inside. I look back over my shoulder at Two-Bit, raising my eyebrows. He just shrugs and we wait. **

** Jenny comes back to the door, a brown paper bag in hand. She looks uncomfortable as she hands me the bag. "I washed everything."**

** I look into the bag and I can feel my eyes widen as I see a bra, a couple pairs of underwear, and a camisole. **

** "They were in Isaac's room, under his bed." Jenny says quietly, a small smile on her lips.**

** "So...?" **

** "Their relationship's a lot more serious than we thought. We'll talk to Isaac, just to make sure they're... being careful. Maybe you could talk to November too?"**

** "Yeah, I'll make sure I do."**

** "Well I'll tell Isaac you stopped by. Bye y'all." She closes the door with a smile. **

(November's POV)

When Darry and Two-Bit had got home, they'd both acted fine. They didn't say anything about talking to Isaac, so I didn't ask. Darry had a paper bag, which I assume is just groceries for supper tonight.

I'm trying to be social, but everyone's sorta acting like I'm depressed or something. I try to help Darry with supper, but he tells me to take it easy tonight. I play poker with Steve and Soda and I win all seven times, and I suck at poker. I crack a joke and everyone acts like it's the funniest thing they've ever heard. I don't mind though, it just shows how much everyone cares.

At supper, everyone but Dally's here. I don't do the dishes after supper. Everyone's doing everything for me. I can't even imagine what everyone would do if something really bad happened to me; I wouldn't even be allowed to pee by myself.

I go to bed early, around 9:30. I don't know how long I sleep before I hear it. Something at my window.

I get up slowly, panic in the pit of my stomach. I think about calling for Darry. But... then I realize. If I were Isaac I wouldn't wanna show my face at the front door either, especially late at night.

I go to the window, pulling the curtain back a little. There he is.

I unlock it and lift it up without a second thought. He steps through as I go to sit back on the bed. I don't say anything... if he came here then he must have something to say.

"Ember. I'm so-" He stops talking as I turn on my lamp. He turns away, putting a hand to his mouth. "Holy shit." He mutters.

"Yeah... it's pretty bad ain't it?"

And for the first time, Isaac's eyes tear up. He's _crying. _Over me. Because he hit me. And when I see his tears, I can't help but feel happy that he regrets it... yet sad that he's crying. He starts to say something else, a little bit too loudly.

"Shh..." I whisper. "My brothers will kill you if they hear you in here."

He nods, not doubting it. "Can we go somewhere? So we can actually talk." I hesitate and he notices. "Please. I won't hurt you again." And the pain in his eyes as he admits out loud what he's done is enough to get me to nod.

I turn away from him as I step outta the shorts I'm wearing and pull on jeans. I grab Soda's old sweatshirt and pull it down over my shoulders. I stuff pillows and bulky clothes underneath my covers, figuring that'll look more realistic than an empty bed if someone comes to check on me. He climbs outta the window first, reaching back to grab my hand as I copy his moves. As soon as my feet are on the ground I release it. I turn around, silently closing the window.

We creep around the side of the house, staying low as we head to the street. I glance over my shoulder, noting how the living room light's still on so it must not be that late.

We walk down the road until the house isn't in sight, and then we reach his truck.

As I buckle my seat belt, I look up and find him staring at me. "What?" I ask.

He shakes his head, almost smiling. "Nothing." He pulls away from the curb. I wait a minute before I ask him where we're going.

"Nowhere really. Where do you wanna go?"

I think a minute. "Somewhere quiet. Not a party or anything... just somewhere where we can talk."

Fifteen minutes later, we're sitting in the middle of a hay field, in the bed of his truck, looking up at the stars.

"You know how sorry I am." Isaac mutters.

I look over at him. "I know Isaac." I take a deep breath. "The gang's pretty pissed." I wrap my arms over my knees, drawing them to my chest.

"They have reason to be. I was a complete jackass."

"You were drunk. Alcohol can make anyone a jackass."

"That don't make it right." He says, looking sad. "I'm so sorry, November."

I make a decision, then and there. Everyone makes mistakes. Isaac made a pretty big one, but he's human. He's supposed to. And maybe I'm making a really big one now.

"Let's just forget about it. Okay?"

He looks so shocked I can't help but laugh. Before I even know what's happening, we're kissing. And the kissing leads to my shirt coming off. Then my pants. What am I doing? Some people might say I'm stupid. I say I'm in love; I'm wrapped around his finger so tight it's gonna take an earthquake to separate us. Or three older, over-protective brothers.

Driving back to the house, I feel guilty for having sex so quick after a huge "fight". We shoulda waited, at least a couple days. I guess our hormones got the better of us. We hadn't even used a damn condom, the only one that I had was back in my purse at the house. We'd just went at it..._ in the back of his truck. _

We don't say anything as we drive back. Both of us probably embarrassed about what just happened. He stops the truck down the road again, just to be safe.

"You want me to walk you back?" He asks, quietly.

I shake my head. "No, it's okay. I'm... sorry about tonight."

He gives a humorless laugh. "You're sorry? You're apologizing for having sex."

"We shouldn't of done it. You and I both know that." I mutter. "God, I mean what if Darry finds out?"

"Well, my parents already know." He says casually.

My mouth drops to the floor. "What?" I ask.

"They talked to me about our 'intimate relationship' today. They said... that Darry was gonna talk to you too."

"Oh my God. How did they find out?"

"No clue, Mom didn't say."

I put my head in my hands. This day was beyond overwhelming. I sigh. "I guess I should go Isaac. I need some sleep."

He nods, leaning forward to give me a quick kiss.

"Goodnight."

"Night."

I sneak back in, closing the window and not even bothering to turn any lights on, for fear that they might wake somebody up. I change back into Darry's huge t-shirt, only wanting to clear my head of the guilty and chaotic thoughts that I can't make go away.

_(Isaac's POV)_

_ I couldn't believe I hadn't told her. Instead, I'd slept with her. I was worse than Winston or Shepard. I could barely admit it in my head, let alone to _her. _She was so beautiful and I loved her so much, but her black eye had changed my entire plan for going to talk to her. I felt like shit. My life just consists of mistakes. I have to tell Ember. But she'll never trust me again. She'll probably break up with me. I'll be the target for all Greasers who hear about it; and everyone'll hear about because the Curtis' are damn popular around here. I don't know what to do. _

_(**Thanks to everyone who's reading! I really appreciate it! Please review! It makes my day getting a new review. Plus knowing what y'all think about the story is really interesting. Give me your thoughts! What do you think should happen with Isaac? Where was Ponyboy at the night that Ember came home late when Isaac hit her? Review more and maybe I'll update sooner(: haha )**_


	6. Chapter 6

Before I even open my eyes, the memories from last night are rolling in. Isaac... me and Isaac...

"Ugh." I sigh into the pillow, trying not to think about how stupid I am.

"Ember!" I hear from the kitchen among other voices. The gang's all here, I reckon. I get up, not even bothering to get dressed. I'm exhausted, probably due to my 'late night'.

As I walk into the living room, everyone gets quieter. I don't pay much attention though; I figure I probably just interrupted a bull session. I ignore the silence while I pour myself some orange juice and start making toast, but after a minute or two with barely any words, I know something's wrong.

"What's going on?" I ask quietly, taking a glance around the room. Steve and Soda are sitting on the couch; Steve looking slightly amused. Pony's sitting at the kitchen table, a bowl of cereal in front of him. Darry's leaning against the counter, a cup of coffee and a weird expression in hand. Two-Bit and Johnny should be here soon to head to school. For a second, no one says anything, so I start spreading some butter on my toast.

"You have fun last night?" Darry asks. My hand jerks at the unexpected question, so butter coats my hand. I look at him, trying to act confused.

"What?" I might as well try to play dumb.

"You can drop the act Ember." Soda says, not even giving me a smile. "You really didn't think we'd notice when your bed was empty for two hours?"

"You guys-" I start to explain, but they won't let me.

"Where'd y'all go?" Darry asks, his voice stern.

"Just to the lot." I reply, lying too easily for my own comfort. But I really don't have much of a choice here. I can't tell Darry where we actually went: an empty field, where we had sex for the second time, no big deal.

"To the lot." He repeats, his eyes narrowed.

"He wanted to apologize. That's all."

"For two hours? He apologized for two hours?" I can hear the doubt in his voice, not that I blame him. It's a shitty lie, even though it's partially true. But telling Darry the truth would be beyond stupid. He has too much shit on his mind without adding on the worry of my sex life.

"Yeah, he did. We had a lot to talk about Dar." I reply.

He shakes his head. "Aside from the fact that it was stupid to sneak out with the guy who gave you a black eye, it was careless. You had us worried pretty bad. I walked into your room to check on you and you weren't in there November."

"I'm _sorry _Darry. Ain't you overreacting though? It ain't like any of y'all never snuck out." I point out, looking at Soda and Pony.

"This isn't about me or Pony or Soda, Ember. It's about you. You snuck out with someone who none of us really trust right now. How do you even trust him? I don't get it." Darry says.

I shrug and take a bite of my toast. Because I honestly don't know how I still trust him.

"I really don't think Isaac's good for you, Ember." Soda says from the couch. Steve nods his approval.

"Y'all don't know him like I do. He does one bad thing and you guys want me to break up with him? No way." I say, focusing on the hem of Darry's shirt I'm wearing; refusing to look any of them in the eye. "I love him." I admit.

"I know you really care about him, but he _hit _you. He forced his hands on you, November." Darry says.

"You don't understand. Just because you don't like him-"

His eyebrows shoot to the top of his forehead. "Don't like him? Hell Ember, if I had it my way, the guy would never touch you again."

"That ain't fair Darry." I say loudly. Pony and Soda are looking at each other, probably wondering if they should step in before this gets outta hand.

"It's fair and you know it just as good as I do. I got plenty of reasons to not like him, November." His statement is met by my silence. "He's never had the best reputation with girls, he drinks pretty bad, he touched you when you didn't wanna be touched, he _hit _you." He says forcefully.

"Congratulations Darry." I reply, braver than I feel. "You just described the average Greaser. I mean, hell, the gang's just like that, Dar! They drink, they all get around pretty good. Just because Isaac's dating me doesn't make him any worse."

"But none of the gang goes around beating on their girlfriends, November!" Darry shouts, his eyes darker than usual. Darker with anger towards Isaac.

Deep down. I know Darry's right. Isaac had crossed the invisible line and it'll be a long time before Darry forgets it. If he ever does.

Everyone's quiet. Me and Darry fighting doesn't happen very often. I glance at the clock, relieved that I have to start getting ready for school soon.

"You're grounded-three weeks." Darry says.

"Three weeks for sneaking out one night?" I ask, shocked. "I've never snuck out before." I remind him.

"I might let you off early for good behavior if you help around the house a little more and stay clear of Isaac for a little while, alright?"

"He's real sorry Darry. You don't-" I say,trying to defend Isaac.

"Just drop it, November." Darry replies, in a no-nonsense kind of way. He runs a hand through his hair, looking a lot more tired than anyone his age should look. "Just go get ready, I'll be in there in a minute."

"Why?" I ask as I stand up, still playing with the hem of the shirt.

"I'll explain in a minute, go get dressed."

I shoot Pony a questioning look but he just shrugs, as clueless as I am I guess. Soda and Steve on the other hand act as if they know something.

I change into a tight sweater and a short skirt. I hate having to dress like a Greaser, but if I don't, I'll get hell about it from everyone else. Darry comes in as I'm attempting to cover my black eye with foundation.

"We need to talk." He says as he sits down on the edge of my bed.

"Didn't we already do this?" I ask with a small smile.

He chuckles. "Yeah, but this is more serious than sneaking out and being grounded."

Oh, shit. I focus completely on my mirror so Darry won't see my expression. Because I can see where this is going. Especially since Isaac had told me that Jenny had talked to him about our 'intimate relationship'. Here it comes.

"You wanna tell me why Jenny found your underwear underneath Isaac's bed?" He asks.

I stop putting on the foundation. I just sit there, wringing my hands in my lap and thinking about what I should say.

"I won't be mad. I just wanna know." He says quietly.

What should I say? Sweet Darry, who has so much on his mind already, doesn't need to worry about my relationship on top of everything else.

"Are you and Isaac having sex?" He asks.

I answer quickly so he won't doubt my response as much. "No, Darry." I say as I turn around, looking him dead in the eye. I can see him relax as soon as the words leave my mouth. But then his brow furrows with obvious confusion.

"Then why was your underwear over there?" He asks, still skeptical. For this question, I don't have to lie. Sure, my bra had been over from the first night we'd made love... but there's been other times when I'd left my clothes there.

_FLASHBACK_

_ "No way." I say, smiling. _

_ "You don't think I'll do it?" He asks, already pulling his shirt over his head._

_ "I know you'll do it, that's what I'm afraid of."_

_ He hops outta the truck before I can stop him, unbuttoning his jeans._

_ "Isaac Reynolds! Get your butt back in here!" I hiss, laughing. He just grins as his jeans pool around his ankles. _

_ "What if somebody sees you?" I ask as he makes his way around the hood of the truck, opening my door. _

_ "Then that person should consider themselves lucky for laying eyes on such a good-looking Greaser couple." He says, winking. _

_ "Couple?" I ask, eyebrows raised. "I am _not_ getting in that water."_

_ "Oh, yes you are."_

_ Before I can stop, Isaac's grabbed me by the arms, wrestling me outta the truck. _

_ "Isaac!" I scream. "No! Put me down!"_

_ He throws me over his shoulder, running towards the water at a sprint. I'm laughing so hard my side hurts. I try to cling to him as he throws me into the February water, but before I know, I'm completely submerged. _

_ I stand up in the waist deep water he's thrown me into, shooting him the dirtiest look I can muster. He doesn't even flinch; if anything, he laughs harder. I wade towards him, waiting until the last second to jump on him, tackling him into the water. I laugh out loud._

_ "It's fucking cold!" He yells, chuckling. _

_ "It was your idea to go swimming in February." I remind him, smiling. _

_ "Well, we only live once, right?" He asks, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards him in the water. And even in the freezing water, with him just in his boxers and me in a soaking wet dress, with us trespassing in some Soc's backyard, with this probably being one of the stupidest things we've ever done, I know I'll remember it forever. And that's all that matters. Our kiss is interrupted by a yell from the bank above us._

_ "Who the hell's down there? This is private property! I'll call the cops!" A man shouts. _

_ We run outta the water, not able to stop laughing. Isaac gathers his clothes and we hop in the truck. We drive by the man, and I can only imagine what he's thinking. _

_ "We're gonna get pneumonia." I mutter, laughing as I crank up the heat. To say I'm freezing would be an understatement. _

_ "We'll be home in a couple minutes. We'll get into some dry clothes." He says, sliding his arm over my shoulders and rubbing my arm._

_ When we get to his house, we run inside, trying not to be seen. Because boxers and a wet dress aren't completely normal for winter. We walk down the hall to his room, still laughing. _

_ He goes to his dresser, pulling out some dry clothes for him to change into. He looks over at me, both of us not sure what I should wear._

_ "Um, you can look through there and see if you find anything to wear home." He says. "I'll go get you a towel."_

_ He leaves the room and I walk over to his dresser, ignoring his jeans. I just stand there for few minutes, because I honestly have no clue what to wear. Isaac walks back in, clad in dry jeans and a flannel shirt, a towel in hand. _

_ "I don't know what I should wear." I admit, stepping to the side as he comes beside me. He hands me the towel, saying, "Go ahead and get outta those wet clothes, I'll find you something." _

_ I go to the bathroom and start taking off my clothes. I throw my wet clothes on top of his, hoping he does his laundry so his mom won't find my underwear here. I wrap the towel around myself, feeling awkward as I step out into the hall. We've only been dating two months, but we were obviously comfortable with each other. I walk into his bedroom and he lets out a low whistle._

_ "You can just stay in that, if you want." He jokes, coming over to kiss me._

_ I blush. "Yeah, cause my brothers would be really happy if I came home naked." _

_ He chuckles. "Here." He says, handing me a handful of clothes. "These will hold ya til you get home. Hopefully before anyone else gets there so you can change."_

_ "I'll get hell for it if they see me in different clothes than what I left in." I mutter, not even wanting to think about my brothers reactions. I go back down to the bathroom, changing into Isaac's clothes. I'm wearing a pair of his boxers, some jogging pants that are two sizes too big, and a big t-shirt. I step outta the bathroom, coming face-to-face with Isaac. _

_ "Let's hit the road." He says, pulling me down the hall. "I hope we beat your brothers home." He mutters the last part._

_ "Just hope we get home before Darry. Pony and Soda wouldn't care that much." I say, knowing that Darry would flip shit at the smallest thing. Especially something regarding me wearing Isaac's clothes. We get in his truck, starting the long drive home._

"November?" Darry asks, bringing me outta the memory. I smile, realizing how long ago that was. Almost three months; look how far we've came since then.

"It would take too long to explain, Dar. You just gotta trust me that we didn't do anything." I say. I know it's awful to lie to Darry... but I feel like I'm doing the right thing by helping keep extra stress off his mind.

"You promise?" Darry asks.

I nod. "Just trust me, Darry." I reply, not even feeling guilty.

(_**I apologize for the fact that I haven't updated in like 35 years. I was honestly considering stopping the story, but I decided to see how yall respond to this chapter first. I know it's shorter than usual, I'm sorry! I was trying to get something up. The next one will be longer, if you guys think I should continue it. Reviews and favorites/follows are appreciated!(: )**_


	7. Chapter 7

"November, come here for a second." My fourth period teacher, Mrs. Bowers, says as the rest of the class heads to lunch. I internally roll my eyes, already dreading this conversation. I'd already had it twice today with my first and third period teachers about my "home life".

"Yes, Mrs. Bowers?" I ask, politely acting like I have no clue what the problem is.

She smiles slightly. "I don't mean to pry November, but I couldn't help but notice your eye."

"Oh." I say, feigning surprise. "It's so embarrassing." I laugh for effect. "There was a fight the other day at the drive-in and I was trying to walk around it so I could leave with my brother before things got outta hand. I didn't have time to stop a swinging elbow."

"Oh my." She says. "That sounds like bad luck."

I nod. "Yeah, I should have been more careful." I try to casually edge my way towards the door, but she stops me with another question that Darry warned me about.

"So, everything's all right at home, right?"

I don't hesitate, but I don't answer too quickly. If I answer too fast, she'll probably get more suspicious.

"Yes ma'am. Everything's going good. Thanks for asking though, Mrs. Bowers." I say, smiling.

She nods, saying, "Have a good day November." She pauses for a second. "And if you ever need anything, just let me know. See you after lunch."

"You too, Mrs. Bowers, thanks again."

I walk through the door, glad to be able to take a break from all the questions. Darry had warned me before I'd left this morning that I would probably have to answer a lot of questions about my eye. For some reason, people seemed to think living with three older brothers put me in a 'bad situation'. Every single visible scratch or bruise could be taken as a sign of abuse. What my teachers don't seem to understand is that Darry would never lay a hand on me, ever. Or Pony or Soda. Sure, he would ground us and raise cain on us but he would never hit us.

When I make it out to the parking lot, I see Pony and Johnny climbing in the back of Two-Bit's car. I wave my hand, praying that they see me before they leave. Steve sees me right as Two-Bit is backing out of his parking spot. I jog down to meet them.

"What took you so long?" Steve asks as I hop in the backseat with Johnny and Pony.

"What do you think?"

"Teacher?" Two-Bit asks, glancing at me in the rear-view. I nod.

"Mrs. Bowers was concerned about my 'home life'. Along with two of my other teachers." I explain with a sigh. Cause they know just as good as I do that it ain't good for so much attention to be drawn to our family like this.

"Did you tell her the elbow thing?" Pony asks, having been there when Darry came up with the fake story. He sure as hell didn't wanna defend Isaac, but he knew how much trouble it would cause if I told people the truth.

"Yeah. They all seemed to believe it though... but it still makes me nervous." I reply.

"Don't worry about it kid." Two-Bit says as we pull into the diner. "You ain't the only Greaser girl who ever came to school banged up."

We all climb outta the car and walk inside, sitting at our regular booth. "Yeah, but I'm almost the only one who ain't got parents. I'm definitely the only one who lives with three older brothers."

Two-Bit sighs. "Hell Ember, don't worry about things so much. You're just gonna freak yourself out. Here, I'll give ya something else to think about."

Two-Bit starts in on this too vivid description of a girl he met at Buck's the other night, so I tune out and look out the window. Two-Bit is right though; worrying won't get me anywhere, it'll just make things worse.

"Steve?" I ask suddenly. "Why ain't you eating with Evie?"

Even though he would never admit it, a look flashes in his eyes for an instant. A really sad look. But he quickly covers it up with a chuckle, not daring to let anyone think he's upset.

"She broke up with me. Said I wasn't committed enough and a bunch of other shit. So I said to hell with it, who cares?"

The table goes quiet for a second and Pony cracks the ice. "Y'all will be back together before ya know it."

Steve just nods and quickly starts another conversation. Our waitress serves us our food and we dig in.

"So Ember, you and Isaac still dating?" Steve asks. Johnny and Pony both cut him a look.

"Yes, Steve." I say, giving him a big smile. "Going strong."

"Going strong downhill." Two-Bit mutters. I punch his arm, but he's smiling at me so I know he's only kidding. Although Two-Bit can be really blunt and straight-forward, he always says what most people are thinking but too afraid to say out loud.

"We've made it almost 6 months. That counts for something." I mutter, digging into my burger and fries.

"That's 6 months longer than anybody else at this table." Johnny says. We all laugh, because it's not everyday Johnny says something that bold. He usually keeps stuff like that to himself.

"I still don't like him." Pony says, quietly.

I don't even bother saying anything. It's pointless; nobody likes Isaac now. Of course, I knew he could be a good guy, but things had definitely changed.

"It's weird he didn't come find you for lunch, though." Two-Bit points out. I'd already thought about that, but I figure Isaac probably just skipped.

"I ain't seen him any today, I reckon he's skipping."

"Right." Steve says, drawing out the word to make it sound like he seriously doubts it. I kick him underneath the table.

"Can we please talk about something else?" I beg, tired of being told about how shitty my boyfriend is.

Johnny starts talking about a knife fight that happened outside the grocery store yesterday and immediately draws the guys attention. I look over at him and give him a nod, thanking him.

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The rest of the day sucks. I'm really tempted to skip but Darry would kill me. I'm gonna try to stay on his good side this week and not get in trouble or talk about Isaac much. Except for Friday; Friday was our ten month anniversary and hopefully Darry would let us go out. But I swear, with the way everybody's been acting, I'm not so sure.

(_**I apologize for how sucky this chapter was, and short. It was sorta just a filler chapter to prepare y'all for the awesomness of the next couple of chapters haha. Review if you don't think this was too terrible! Please message me if you have any idea about what yall think should happen with Isaac and Ember's relationship and any other ideas! Thank you(:)**_


	8. Chapter 8

I step into one of my old dresses, pulling it up and slipping my arms into the armholes. I awkwardly grab the zipper on the back and attempt to zip the dress closed but it won't even budge an inch.

"Shit." I mutter under my breath. It fits me fine around the waist but the zipper refuses to close the top back of the dress. This dress has fit me for the past two years; it's one of my favorites that Mom bought for me to wear to one of Darry's athletic banquets where he got around a dozen awards. I'm exaggerating a little, but he still got_ a lot. _

It's Friday night, a.k.a. mine and Isaac's ten month anniversary. It took a lot of convincing to get Darry to say yes. My curfew got some time deducted from it but nobody's gonna see me complaining as long as I'm out with Isaac. Kim sorta acted like Darry was being the bad guy for cutting my curfew and saying he didn't want me to date Isaac anymore. I think everybody forgets that Darry's still basically a kid raising three kids. Darry's just doing his job, nothing more, nothing less.

I walk out of my room, looking for anyone to help me zip the dress. Everyone's here, for now anyways. Soda, Steve, Evie and Sandy were all going to the rodeo in a little while and Ponyboy and Johnny were going to meet up with some friends from school or something. Lord only knows where Two-Bit and Dally would be getting into over the weekend.

Darry has his head hunched over the kitchen table, what I assume as more bills staring up at him. Steve and Soda are at the other end of the table, playing cards. Pony and Johnny are each sprawled on a piece of furniture in the living room, absorbing the TV. I walk up to Soda.

"Can you zip me?" I ask, turning my back to him.

"Sure thing. Gimme a second to kick Steve's ass." He says as he lays down a straight.

Steve lets out a low whistle. "Damn it."

Soda gives him a cheeky grin. "Looks like you're paying for supper tonight, buddy."

"Douchebag."

Soda laughs as I feel him grab the zipper on my back. I feel it jerk a couple of time but the material of the dress is still hanging loosely away from me.

"Well damn, November."Soda sighs. "It won't go honey."

I turn my head and look at him over my shoulder. "That don't make sense, I've had this dress for two years. It's always fit me."

"Here," Steve says, getting up and walking around the table to us. "Lemme give it a try."

I feel him trying to pinch the fabric together and the zipper goes maybe half an inch. It just won't go any further.

"I reckon you'll have to wear something else, Novie." Steve says, giving up.

I sigh, saying, "Thanks anyways."

I go back into my room, changing into a dress that's meant to not be as tight as the last one. This one goes on fine. I come to the conclusion that my boobs must have grown or something because that seems to be the problem.

I look in the mirror, trying to figure out what to do to my hair. I'll just get someone to braid it, I guess, since my curls don't stand a chance of looking attractive tonight. I put on a little bit of lipstick and some eyeliner and mascara, trying not to overdo it. Mom always told me, "Less is more."

I grab my shoes and purse and go into the living room, plopping down in front of the couch where Ponyboy's sitting.

"Ponyboy, can you french braid my hair?" I ask.

"Looks fine like it is." He says, eyes still frozen to the TV.

"Like hell it does. Please Pony."

He sighs but he starts braiding it anyways. Mom had shown the guys how to do it years ago. She told em it might end up impressing a girl sometime, and they all jumped at the opportunity. Even though being able to get one of the gang to do it whenever was nice, I would always miss Mama doing it.

"There ya go." Pony says, tying it off with my hairbow.

"Thanks Pony." I say, standing back up. "Ya know, I bet Hannah would be really impressed that you can braid hair."

"Oh hush." He says, defensively, but he's smiling.

I walk back into the kitchen where Steve's trying to be discreet about drinking from the chocolate milk carton.

"Remind me not to drink outta the milk carton." Soda says, shuffling the cards. "I really don't want AIDS."

I laugh as Steve puts the carton down. "For you information, smartass, you gotta have a place in your mouth or something before it can be spread. And I would have to have it."

"Damn, I didn't know you paid that much attention in health Steve." I say, hopping on the counter.

He flicks me off, smirking. He points up at his eye, still looking at me.

"What?" I ask.

"Don't forget to cover that up."

"Oh yeah." I say, hopping off the counter. "Thanks." I walk into my room, grabbing my foundation and dabbing some on my fingers. I rub it in over my still black eye, covering it up as much as possible. My eye doesn't look as bad, but Darry said it would probably be another week before it went away completely.

There's a knock on the door. I get sorta nervous. The last time someone knocked on our door it was the social workers checking up on us. That was always sorta stressful, trying to make sure everything looked perfect and act like perfect angels.

"Ember! Isaac's here!" Pony yells from the living room. I take one last look in the mirror, decide I don't look too terrible and walk out into the living room.

I walk straight into a staring contest. No, a staring _war. _Isaac versus every other person in the house other than me. And Isaac is definitely losing.

Shit.

I walk up to Isaac, giving him a kiss that lasts way longer than necessary. But I'm trying to make a point. He doesn't really return it much though, not that I blame him. I wouldn't either if I was being stared at by a roomful of angry guys.

"Well, you guys, we're gonna go." I say, shooting everybody a smile.

"Be careful!" Soda hollers. I glare at him as we walk out the door.

"Be home by 11!" Darry adds as the door swings shut behind me.

We get in the car and I immediately apologize. "I'm sorry, Isaac. They're just being sensitive."

"Don't worry about it. I would do the same." He says, smiling.

"Ya know, you don't have to knock at my house, right?"

He laughs, saying, "I'd rather not take any chances just barging in. I don't wanna piss em off anymore than I already have."

I grab his hand and hold it to my lips. "They'll cool off soon, just give em time."

He nods, looking skeptical.

"So, where are we going?" I change the subject.

"To town."

"Where at in town?"

"It's a surprise." He smiles.

We drive through our part of town and pass by all the Soc houses too. We keep driving until we've reached a small area right outside of Tulsa. We pull up outside of a fancy restaurant.

"Wow." I say as Isaac opens my door. "Isaac, this is amazing."

He grins and grabs my hand as we walk towards the front door of the restaurant. "We never go out anywhere nice, so I figured our ten month anniversary was worth something special."

"I love you." I say. He kisses me one more time before we step inside.

He made us reservations. I could not be more impressed with him. The fact that he's still wearing one of his old t-shirts, a wore pair of jeans and a button up shirt makes it even more perfect.

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The date goes as perfect as anyone could imagine it. The food was awesome; the best meal I've had in a while.

We're riding home with plenty of time to spare, listening to the radio.

"Why didn't you wear that blue dress I like?"

"It wouldn't zip." I say, blushing. The whole dress situation still didn't make sense to me. I've been eating the same amount of food I have for the past two years so why would I gain weight now?

"Oh." He says, knowing that it's best to probably not say much.

"I think my boobs grew."

He glances over at my chest. "Hmm... you're right. That's weird, you'd think you'd be done growing at almost 16. Not that I'm complaining."

"Ha ha. You ain't the one who's gonna have to ask Darry for money for a new bra." I say, because seriously, now that I actually pay attention, I noticed that that my bras are too little. Out of nowhere.

"You know I can give you money." He says, already knowing my answer.

"Nah, Isaac. Don't worry about it. I'm probably just bloated or something." I say. Isaac was always doing this, trying to buy me really nice things or offering to buy me expensive stuff for school. But I just wasn't the type of person to accept stuff like that, it made me feel bad because I know that I probably can't pay it back.

"Alright, tell me if you change your mind."

We're back in town now, just cruising.

"You care if we go to the car wash right quick?" He asks, already signaling in.

"Sure. Ya know, most people wash their cars during the day." I joke as we pull up beside the hoses.

We both hop out and Isaac starts digging in his pockets for some change.

"Well now we ain't gotta wait in line." He pulls some money out, counting it. "We got just enough coins to get soap and water."

"Oh thank God, I was really worried for a second."

"Smartass." He mutters while he puts the coins in the dispenser and picks up the sprayer. I lean against the brick wall as Isaac starts spraying the car with soap. I look out at the road. There's a couple of kids walking down the sidewalk, a car pulling into a driveway and a bunch of dark windows. It's already about 10 o'clock so people are winding down. I stop daydreaming as soon as the soapy water hits me square in the face.

I turn to face him, soap dripping down my face. He's standing there grinning from ear to ear, holding the sprayer in front of him like he's defending himself.

"Asshole." I say, walking towards him, but I can't help but smile a little.

He clicks his tongue at me. "Not another step. Unless you want more soap."

"You look psychotic." I laugh, carefully placing myself so that the truck's between us. He sends a shower for soap right on my head. I scream.

"Isaac!" I run over to him, pushing him and trying to wrestle the sprayer out of his hand. We're both laughing. We laugh harder when the sprayer shuts off.

He goes and puts in more change and immediately turns around and sprays me, soaking my dress.

"I hate you!" I scream, still laughing. I get behind him and jump on his back, finally grabbing the sprayer out of his hands. He drops me and tries to run away. I spray him on his back.

"Are we even yet?" He asks.

"Not even close!"

He finally stops and just stands there until I'm right in front of him. We're both completely soaked.

"How about now?" He asks, a smile on his lips.

"Nope."

I step closer, spraying him one last time before the water shuts off.

"Now we are." I say quietly as he leans in and kisses me. After a second I pull away.

"We should probably get going." I say, walking to go put the sprayer up.

"Shit." Isaac says behind me.

"What?" I ask, turning around to get in the truck. The truck that's half covered in soap and half covered in mud.

I press my hand to my mouth, laughing. "It's your fault." I say as I hop in.

"I guess I gotta wash my truck tomorrow." He says, looking over at me and smiling.

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I walk back in at 10:30; Isaac's trying to get back on Darry's good side by dropping me off early. Obviously I'm met with Darry's questioning look as he lowers the paper he's reading.

"I helped Isaac wash his truck." I say with a smile.

He shakes his head. "Doesn't look like the truck got much washing."

"It didn't."

I start to walk towards the bathroom, but Darry's voice stops me.

"Did you have fun?"

I don't answer for a second, because I wasn't really expecting Darry to be curious about whether or not I had fun. I was expecting him to search me up and down for bruises.

"Yeah." I say finally. "We had a really good time."

"That's all that matters."

I smile at him. "I love you Darry."

"Love you too kiddo."

_**(**_**I promise this chapter had purpose haha. I'll try to update soon, the next chapter's gonna be more eventful (: Reviews and favorites/follows are appreciated!)**


	9. Chapter 9

"Pony!" I holler into the living room as I rub my temples. My algebra 2 homework was about to drive my insane. I'm in some advanced classes at school, but I sure as hell ain't as smart as Ponyboy. He's only ten months older than me, but he's so smart he's a grade ahead of me. I honestly dumb myself down some; I hate being in the smart classes with Socs.

He drifts into the kitchen, a cigarette hanging lazily from the corner of his mouth.

"You'll be in hot water if Darry catches you with that thing lit in here." I tell him as he sits down beside me.

"If being the key word." He says with a smile. I know the chances of Darry catching him were slim. Him and the rest of the gang's outside throwing the football around. I'm stuck in here finishing this stupid homework and last I had checked Pony had been reading.

"I need your help." I admit, pointing to the problem I'm stuck on with my pencil.

"Inverse functions ain't that bad." He says. "Just change the x and y, and solve for y."

I look at my paper and immediately see what he's talking about.

"Well damn..." I mutter, doing what Pony told me to do. "How do you always manage to make me look stupid?" I ask, only half joking.

"You just don't like math, Ember. Nothing wrong with that." He says, chuckling as he presses his cigarette into the ashtray.

I finish the rest of my math while Pony sits beside me, zoning out. I envy how easy it is for him to tune everything out.

I close my book and stretch my arms behind me. I notice how uncomfortable my bra feels. If I don't start my damn period soon I'm gonna have to ask Darry for money for a new one.

"You wanna go to the diner?" I ask Pony as I stand up, walking over to the window. I can barely see the lot from here, but I can vaguely make out Darry's huge frame sending the ball down the field to what looks like Dally. Touchdown.

"Sure. Let's go ask." He replies as he stands up. We make our way outside and head towards the lot.

Sometimes I play football with the guys, but it's not near as fun because they change it to two hand touch. Usually I just play if Sandy and Evie wanna.

We stroll over to the edge of the lot, trying to find a good time to jump in and ask Darry. They're in the middle of a play now: Soda hikes the ball to Darry, Johnny takes off down the field and Darry sends it to him, Two-Bit runs right behind Johnny, tackling him right before he reaches the end zone.

"Hey Darry!" I holler. He looks over and motions for us to walk over.

"What are y'all up to?" He asks, still breathing hard.

"Me and Pony were thinking about going to the diner for supper."

He nods, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two bucks. "Alright. Get me a club sandwich."

Johnny stands up. "Can I come?"

I smile and nod. "Don't you wanna finish the game?"

"Darry and Sodapop will be fine without me." He says, dusting off his pants leg.

Darry chuckles, adding, "Be careful."

"Will do." Pony mutters.

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"How are things with Hannah, Pone?" I ask as we walk to the diner.

"I ain't really heard from her in a while." He mutters, rubbing the back of his neck, causing Johnny to laugh.

"What?" I shoot a look at Johnny but he just grins, looking at the ground.

"Ask good ole Ponyboy."

Pony rams into him with his elbow, but Johnny only laughs harder.

"What's he talking about Pony?"

Still with the laughter. "Come on Ponyboy, lay it on me."

"It ain't a big deal, Ember. I guess I can join in the guys' bull sessions now."

My mouth drops open. "You and Hannah Moore?"

"Geez Louise, don't sound so damn shocked." He says, chuckling.

"It's just... ain't she a paper shaker?" I ask, because I'm pretty sure I remember seeing her cheer leading at football games. And if she was a cheer leader, she was definitely a Soc.

"Yeah." He says, smirking. "It don't matter if she's a Soc. Just don't tell none of the gang, they'd never let me hear the end of it."

"What about Soda?" I ask. Ponyboy and him are almost inseparable. They tell each other everything under the sun.

"Nah, he don't even know. I'll tell him soon, though." He says, opening the diner door for me and Johnny.

We slide into our booth, waiting for the waitress. Pony and Johnny start talking, switching topics faster than you wouldn't believe. People think Johnny's basically a mute, but get him around Pony or even me or Dally and he would talk your ear off.

I glance around the restaurant, looking for anyone I might know. It ain't real crowded now, just a few older couples, some greasers clustered together at one of the back tables and some chick sitting by herself. I actually think I know her. Abigail, I think. A nice, middle class girl who hangs out with greasers. I've talked to her a couple of times, she's real sweet.

The bell above the diner door rings and I look up instinctively to see who it is.

Isaac.

I'm about to make Johnny move outta the way so I can go attack Isaac, because at first I think he's going to join the group of greasers in the back. But he doesn't. And he doesn't come to me either. He walks the direction opposite me, never once noticing that I'm there, and sits down with Abigail.

She leans forward across the small table and kisses him, full on the mouth.

I wait for him to push her away or get up and leave. But he doesn't. So I sit there and watch my boyfriend kiss another girl.

Tears well instantly in my eyes and I hastily try to blink them away. This is unreal. Every girl's worst nightmare is happening. Jay had been right. Darry had been right. I'd been wrong.

"Novie?" Johnny asks, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Pony asks.

I shake my head and slide into Johnny, trying to make him stand up. "Let's go." I mutter, wiping at the tears on my face.

If I was the typical greaser girl, I would probably run over to Isaac and smack him so hard he'd see stars. But I wasn't like that. All I wanted to do was go home so I could cry in pathetic peace.

Johnny stands up and I follow suit, Pony does the same. But he seems him.

"Is that..." He stands on tiptoe, trying to see better. "Is that _Isaac?_"

Johnny looks over and a strange look passes over his face. "What the hell?"

I try to push both of them out of the diner door but they walk right by me. I stand there for a second, praying that they just exchange words.

That doesn't happen. Pony taps him on the shoulder and as soon as Isaac turns around, BOOM. Pony wails on him, giving him two good punches before Isaac even has time to react. He gets to his feet and sends one right back to Pony, nailing him on the side of the face. Johnny jumps in and cuts one to Isaac's stomach.

Even though Pony and Johnny are going against Isaac together, Isaac's still getting in a lot of good hits. All of these punches happen within seconds. I run over, trying to separate everybody. Right now, it doesn't matter to Pony, Johnny, or Isaac that they all know each other and are pretty good friends. Right now, it is what it is. A fight.

I finally manage to wedge myself between Pony and Isaac. They both immediately stop swinging. Johnny's helping Abigail off the floor, where I guess she got pushed outta the way of the fight. I turn around and face Pony, putting my hands on his chest and pushing him backwards.

"You bastard." Pony says, wiping blood off of his lip. "Never come near her again."

"Stop Pony. Come on Johnny." I say, still pushing Pony backwards. Mr. Skiver makes his way over to us, the phone in his hand.

"Do I need to call the cops?" Mr. Skiver asks, looking at me.

"No, Mr. Skiver. I'm sorry sir, we're leaving." I say. Pony and Johnny walk to the door. I turn around again and look at Isaac. He's staring at me hard. He takes a step toward me, but I just shake my head. Someone tugs on my arm and I turn away from Isaac and walk with Johnny out the door.

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I try really hard to hold it together on the walk home. But the more I try to hold it in, the worse I feel. About halfway home, I'm sobbing uncontrollably. This is the kind of sob I did when I learned that my parents had died. Obviously, that was more intense, but this is only a couple of steps less painful.

The man I love was cheating on me.

The man I lost my virginity to was cheating on me.

That's a lot for anybody to take in.

Ponyboy and Johnny try to comfort me but there really isn't anything they can say to make me feel better. I bawl for most of the walk home. I fought so hard to get Darry's approval of Isaac and this is where it got me. I worked so hard to stay with him and forgive him for hitting me and it was all pointless.

I can tell that everyone's still at the house before it's even in sight. I can hear Two-Bit's howling laughter and the sound of someone getting slammed into the floor. When we walk up the porch steps I sit down instead of going inside.

"Ain't you gonna come in?" Pony asks, hand on the door knob. I shake my head.

"We're gonna have to tell them, ya know. They're gonna know something's up when they see us." He says, gesturing to his and Johnny's faces. I nod to let him know that it's okay. They disappear inside and immediately the voices go down a notch. I hear Sodapop going off and everybody else asking questions. I hear Ponyboy explaining everything.

I put my head down on my knees. I just... cannot believe this. Jay had warned me that something was going on and I hadn't even listened.

The door swings open and someone sits down beside me. I can tell by the smell of the aftershave who it is.

"You wanna talk about it?" Soda asks, putting an arm around me.

"You gotta smoke?" I ask, my voice hoarse from crying.

He laughs. "Nah, but I'll go get you one." He goes inside and returns within half a beat. I raise my head off my knees and take the cigarette outta his hand. I put it in my mouth and he lights it for me. I take a long drag. I try to blow a smoke circle like Dally taught me, but it just looks like a big blob.

"I had no idea he was two-timing me." I mutter, wiping new tears off of my face. "How the hell did I not know?"

"There was no way for you to know baby." He waits a second before adding the rest. "He does love you, you can tell by the way he looks at you."

And now I'm sobbing again. I rest my head on Soda's shoulder and we sit there for a long time in silence.

"I heard Pony and Johnny gave it to him." Soda says.

"Pony punched him twice in the face before Isaac even knew what was happening."

"Pony digs okay, ya know?"

"Y'all all do." I say as I crush my cigarette in the ashtray, watching the embers fade to nothing.

(**Some of y'all have probably seen that coming for a while, so there you go. Haha reviews and follows/favorites are appreciated along with any ideas or critism!)**


	10. Chapter 10

(_**Content in this chapter is a little bit more mature. Proceed with caution.)**_

I try to brush it off. I really do. But it was ten months. Ten months of constantly thinking about him and going on dates and having him over to the house. Even though some people think ten months ain't that long, around here it's a major accomplishment. Most relationships, especially in greaser territory, don't go past one night stands. They're considered lucky if they last past one month. Greasers usually lose their virginity before they turn 16. Breakups are common because so many guys get caught two-timing. I'm just one of many heartbroken girls.

The first week after we caught Isaac with Abigail, I sorta just kept to myself. For lunch, I would go along with Two-Bit and the guys but I didn't really talk much. I just felt sad; I still feel sad honestly. I moped around the house and cried a lot. I started crying really hard one night when I was trying to write an essay for English class. The topic was "Your best memory from the past summer". I immediately thought of the time Isaac and me had went riding horses. I thought of when I went with Isaac and the gang to a drag race over at the edge of town. I rode with Isaac in his truck and he won by a landslide. The whole assignment brought back all of my summer memories that I was trying desperately to forget.

I ended up writing about when me and my brothers went swimming at the lake, just the four of us. It was fun, but it wasn't the best memory. All of my best memories from the past summer involved Isaac. Needless to say, I got a C on the essay.

I'd been planning on continuing the moping routine, because I still didn't feel like putting forth the effort to act like I was fine. But I overheard Darry and Soda talking in the kitchen one night, when they thought I had been asleep for a long time.

**"Should we talk to her about it?" Darry asks, his voice low. I'm pressed up against the wall. I just had a nightmare and was gonna go in the kitchen to get a glass of water. **

** "I think she just needs some time Darry. It was a bad breakup, it's gonna take her a while."**

** "Yeah, I know... It just worries me, her being so sad." **

** There's a pause. "Let's give her a couple more days. If she don't seem no better, we can talk to her."**

** "I reckon that'll work." Another pause. "I really just wanna pound his head in." Darry mutters.**

** "We all do, Darry."**

I hate to worry Darry so much. I hadn't told him about me and Isaac having sex so he wouldn't worry. And now I'm gonna make him believe that I'm fine so he won't worry.

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I'm pretty sure Darry's already yelled at me to get up like five times but I feel way too shitty to even move; my stomach feels like something's trying to claw it's way out of it.

A hand touches my shoulder, shaking me gently. "Get up November."

"Go away Darry." I whine, trying to pull the covers further over my head.

"You're gonna miss your ride if you don't get up..." He says, rubbing my back.

"Good."

He yanks the covers off of me, just like I knew he would; that's always his last resort. I'm already squinting my eyes shut, because I know what his next move's gonna be. The light shines down and I roll over and sit up, ready to give Darry the glare of a lifetime.

"I don't feel good Darry." I mutter as I rub my eyes.

"I don't think anyone could feel good with that much blood coming out of em." He says, pointing at the bed. I look down... at the pool of damn blood I'm sitting in. It ain't a pool but still, my sheets are soaked.

"Dammit Dar, I'm sorry." I get up, already trying to get the sheets untucked before the mattress gets soaked too.

"Don't apologize for your period Novie. Go get cleaned up, I'll take care of this."

He's already taking my spot untucking the sheets and throwing my pillows onto Pony's bed. I grab a clean pair of shorts and underwear and head to the bathroom. When I yank down my shorts and underwear, I fight the urge to throw up. That is a shit load of blood. After I've cleaned the blood off my thighs and change I open the door, still holding my bloody clothes. I meet Darry in the hall, who's toting my ruined sheets. He raises his eyebrows at the clothes in my hand.

"Let's go put these in trash bags; sorry sweetie, but there ain't no way of getting that much blood out."

I just nod, sulking at the thought of having to buy new sheets and ruining a good pair of shorts and underwear. We walk through the living room and into the kitchen where the garbage bags are, all the while being watched by everybody. Great.

"Jesus Christ." Ponyboy says, wrinkling his nose. "I'm trying to eat."

I can feel my face heating up, from Pony's words and the way Johnny and Steve are both staring at the clothes, looking uncomfortable.

Soda, however, shoots Pony a look and walks over to me, putting a hand to my forehead. "You don't look so good, kid." He looks over at Darry. "Looks sorta pale Dar."

Darry glances back at me, depositing the bloodied sheets in a trash bag. His brow furrows before he answers, "You might outta stay out today Ember."

Before I have a chance to answer, Two-Bit strolls into the house, the door slamming behind him. He stops short of the fridge, probably looking for the cake Pony made yesterday, and stares at the clothes in my hand.

"Well..." He starts, smirking. "At least we know she ain't pregnant."

I don't know why, maybe I'm just emotional, but as soon as he says that, barely even mentioning pregnancy. Because I guess there had been a chance I could have been pregnant, with Isaac not using a condom the last time. But Two-Bit doesn't know how close to home his words actually are. It's still enough to make my cheeks flame and tears to brim. I hand my ruined clothes to Darry.

"Nice going Two-Bit." I barely hear Steve say as I head into the safety of mine and Pony's room.

I guess it's the loss of Isaac that has me so emotional. Lately, I've been crying at the drop of a hat. I sit on my bed Indian style and press the heels of my hands into my eyes, forcing the tears to go away.

It's only been a week, but I need to try to move on. If he was cheating on me, then he obviously wasn't meant for me. It's simple when I think about it, but it'll probably be nearly impossible to do.

Pony walks in, looking hesitant. "Hope you feel better Ember, we'll come see you during lunch." He gathers his books, gives me a small smile, and leaves, shutting the door behind him. Soda and Steve drop in to say bye, reminding me again that they'll be by to see me. I don't see Johnny or Two-Bit, not that I blame them. They're probably keeping their distance to avoid my fragility.

Darry pokes his head back in right as I'm drifting back to sleep.

"If you need anything, just call the office or Soda okay? Love you." I wave at him in acknowledgment and drift off to sleep.

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"November." Someone draws my name out and I open my eyes. I groan, trying to roll over and face the wall but whoever's sitting on the edge of my bed grabs my shoulder.

"You've slept the day away Ember. It's already lunchtime." Steve says, shaking my shoulder now. I sit up when he says that.

"No way." I mutter, getting outta bed and walking over to the clock on the dresser so my blurry eyes can see the numbers. 12:52. I can't remember the last time I slept this late.

Steve chuckles. "Come on, we brought you some food from the diner."

I follow Steve into the living room where Ponyboy, Two-Bit, and Johnny are already seated, watching TV.

A chorus of greetings meet me and I give everybody a grin, because honestly, I feel sorta nauseous. I feel like a pansy, skipping school just because I'm on the rag. But then again, this is probably one of the worst ones I've had.

"You feeling any better?" Pony asks, raising his eyebrows at me.

I shake my head as I bite into my cheeseburger. "Feel like shit." I mutter. And I do. My stomach still hurts really bad, I'm nauseous and I'm probably still bleeding like a stuck pig.

"Where's Soda?" I ask.

"He had a different lunch break today." Two-Bit says.

"That mustang y'all are working on sure is tuff, Steve." Johnny says around a mouthful of french fries.

"It'd be even tuffer if it wasn't fuckin' Socs who brought it in. I'm tempted to do a bad job on purpose." He says, smirking. It's saying something big if Socs bring their cars for Steve to work on; he's that good at it.

"Don't you think that would look a tad bit suspicious?" I ask, grinning. My grin disappears though as a wave of nausea hits. I jump up from my spot on the couch beside Steve and run to the bathroom, hand over my mouth. I land on my knees in front of the toilet, puking up what little lunch I just ate.

Someone tries to save my hair, but they couldn't pull it behind my head fast enough. After a minute or two, my stomach's empty. I sit back, leaning against whoever's with me.

"You okay?" Steve asks, hand still knotted in my hair. I take a deep breath, hating the taste of bile in my mouth. I nod, even though I still feel terrible.

For a second, I just sit there in Steve's arms. Cause I don't feel like moving, because this is reminding me too much of Isaac holding me. Even though right now, Steve's doing this in a brotherly way, it still reminds me too much. I force myself to stand up and Steve does the same.

"You probably outta take a shower right quick." He says, gesturing to my hair.

"Sorry about the puke." I say, blushing. I've known Steve since I was four, I'm usually not awkward around him but now... he has my puke on his hands so I have plenty of reason to be embarrassed.

"Ah hell, I can't even count how many times I've held Evie's hair back when she was drunk." He gives me the smirk that he's known for and makes most girls swoon. Not me.

"How long are y'all gonna be here?"

"At least 1:30."

"Alright... well I'll just be a couple of minutes."

He nods and shuts the door on his way out. Normally I'd lock the door, because I've been walked in on way too many times by one of the guys, but since everyone knows I'm in here, there's really no point.

I shed my clothes and turn on the shower, feeling like complete shit. I step under the stream of hot water, tilting my head back and trying not to over think everything. At least I have the gang to back me up with everything. So far, Isaac ain't said anything to me but that's because I've been escorted by either Steve, Pony, Johnny or Two-Bit to class. He hasn't had the opportunity to get me alone yet and it's only a matter of time before he gets a chance to explain his way outta the cheating.

I don't feel good. This is a sudden, new wave of sickness. I'm in the middle of washing the shampoo outta my hair but all of a sudden I feel _really _bad. I scrub my head, trying to let the water do its magic and make me feel better. I finally get all of the suds outta my hair but I still feel lousy. I'm really dizzy. I reach for the shower curtain and pull it back.

I'm falling.

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****(Steve's POV)****

"So I heard Isaac's hubcaps went missing this morning." Two-Bit says. "Or he was raising cain about it when I walked by his locker. And something about oreos?"

I keep the smirk off my face, or attempt to. "Really?" I ask.

Johnny's grinning and Pony's shaking his head. "Why'd you only take two hubcaps? And what the fuck's up with oreos man?" He's laughing though, and I can't help but laugh too.

"So maybe I bought a bag of oreos and took the two halves apart and stuck the creamy side on Isaac's windshield. And maybe I took two of Isaac's hubcaps just for the hell of it. He deserves it." I say, because the bastard does. Sure, plenty of other guys around here two-timed their girls like it doesn't mean anything. I'm guilty of it, Lord knows Two-Bit is. But it's different when it happens to someone who's like a little sister to ya; I can't imagine how Soda and them feel.

"He's gonna know it was you man, once he sees them hubcaps gone. But the oreos-" Two-Bit starts but gets interrupted. A crash sounds from the bathroom. Not a crash like November might have dropped the shampoo bottle. A crash like she mighta fell. We all look at each other.

"November?" Pony hollers, worry evident in his voice. No answer. "I'll go check on her." He mutters, getting up.

"Hold on Pony, let me do it." I say.

His brow furrows and he shoots me a look. "Why?"

"Cause I doubt she wants her big brother to see her naked if she fell or something."

"She wouldn't want you to see her like that either." He mutters, but still sits down.

"Maybe not, but it's something I'm used to seeing ." I say, smirking. I walk to the bathroom door and listen but there ain't no sounds.

I beat on the door and wait. No answer. Shit.

I push the door open. The shower curtain's pulled. "November?"

She still doesn't answer. I walk closer to the shower curtain, fisting it in my hand.

"November, if you don't answer I'm gonna pull the curtain back."

No answer.

I pull the curtain back and a string of cuss words leaves my mouth. So much fucking blood. How the fuck is she still alive? She's in the shower, on her back. I lean over the side and put my ear to her chest, and send a silent prayer up to whoever's up there. She's breathing. Footsteps come running towards us.

"Don't let the kid in here." I say. My hands are shaking.

"What? She's my sister!" Pony shouts.

"Exactly! You don't need to see her like this. Go call an ambulance!"

I slide my arms underneath her armpits and slide her outta the tub, being as gentle as possible. She's laying across my lap and she looks so fucking pitiful, I tear up for a second.

In any other situation I wouldn't try to avoid looking at her. If I'd accidentally walked in on her and she was fine, I wouldn't be able to control how I would wanna look. But now's completely different. Her whole lower half's covered in blood. Her face is a sickly shade of white. I pull my black t-shirt over my head and slide it over hers. I pull her arms through the t-shirt and at least now she won't be completely exposed.

Two-Bit walks back into the room. "What the fuck's wrong with her?"

"I don't know!" I yell. I shake my head a second later. I shouldn't take this out on Two-Bit. I cradle her in my lap, her head on my shoulder. God, she has to be okay. Her brothers won't be able to take another loss. I won't be able to stand it. Nobody would be able to stand it, even Dally.

"Can you call Darry so he can meet us at the hospital? Maybe ride down and pick up Soda?" I ask, my voice weaker than I'd like to admit. He jut nods. "Take them with you, Two."

Surprisingly Pony doesn't complain about not getting to stay with Ember. I'm just trying to think of what she would want. She probably wouldn't want her brother seeing her like this... all bloody and half-naked. It's definitely gonna be something I'll never forget.

"Stevie..." My old nickname drifts up to me from November's pale lips.

"Novie you're gonna be fine. The ambulance is on it's way."

Her eyes are full of tears and damn it all I can't help it. A tear comes out and makes its way down my cheek.

"You're gonna be fine." I mutter, wishing with everything I have that I'm right.

(_**This might be the longest chapter I've written haha I hope yall enjoyed that. Any ideas or questions just comment or message me! Reviews and favorites/follows are appreciated!(: )**_


	11. Author's Note

**Author's note:**

** Hey everybody who's surprisingly interested in this story. I really really really need opinions/ideas for what should happen next. Or what you guys think should happen next. I'm having writer's block really bad and ighaof;ghaodfg I just don't know what should happen. I had an idea but now I'm thinking it doesn't seem appropriate. Please send me ideas! Thank you!(: Hope everyone's having a good day!**.


	12. Chapter 11

**(Darry)**

** "Curtis!" I look down at the ground, trying to find whoever called my name. Charlie's standing at the foot of the ladder, waving his hands to get my attention. **

** "Yeah?" I holler back. **

** "Come on down!"**

** I don't question him, just hook my hammer back in my tool belt and walk carefully towards the edge of the roof. I climb down, wondering what the hell my boss wants. As far as I know I ain't done anything wrong. **

** He doesn't say anything when I reach him, just gestures for me to follow him. We walk to the edge of the driveway, where all our vehicles are parked. **

** "What's going on Charlie?" I ask, sorta panicky. Please, please, please don't fire me. That is the absolute last thing I need right now. Although money's coming in pretty good with my two jobs and Soda's, we still can't afford a big blow like that. **

** "Someone called for you." He looks worried and I don't like where this is going. The only reason someone would call me at work is if someone's hurt or someone's in trouble. Before I have a chance to ask who, he finishes the rest of his thought. "Your sister's being taken to the hospital."**

** My heart drops to the ground and my knees feel week. "Why?" It's all I can utter. **

** "I don't know Darry... Take the rest of the day off, tomorrow too if you need it."**

** I nod and run down the long line of trucks and cars until I reach mine. I peel onto the street, tires squealing as I head towards the hospital. Dear God, it was just her period. Sure, this morning she hadn't felt good but no way her fucking period could land her in the hospital. Maybe it's something stupid and small. I'm probably overreacting. **

** She has to be okay. **

**Qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq I don't even need to ask a nurse where my sister is. Ponyboy, Steve, Soda, Two-Bit, and Johnny are already all sitting in the ER waiting room, looking as worried as I feel. Soda shoots to his feet when he sees me. **

** "They need your permission to do blood tests Dar, since you're the guardian. "**

_** "**_**Blood tests? What the fuck's wrong with her?" I ask. **

** "They don't know yet**__**Dar, that's why they need to run the tests. She's okay though, they say she's gonna be fine."**

** I run a hand through my hair, cursing under my breath. Thank God. She's okay. **

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_"She's lost a lot of blood..." An unfamiliar voice says from above me. I'm lying flat; I feel like I'm moving though. _

_ "You said you aren't related?"_

_ "No, really good friends." Steve's voice. "Is she gonna be alright?" _

_ "The bleeding's stopped so that's a good sign, but we'll have to see what the doctors say, son." _

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I wake up to really bright lights and a blinding white room with a middle aged man smiling at me. I try to sit up but he presses a hand to my shoulder.

"Easy there, we don't wanna push our luck."

"What's going on?" I ask, my voice quiet. I remember everything... the shower and all the blood, feeling dizzy. I remember Steve telling me I was gonna be okay. "My brothers?"

"My name's Henry Kane, or Dr. Kane. Your brothers are in the waiting room." He says. "Dying to see you. Actually the whole waiting room's full of people."

"What's wrong with me?" I ask because ain't that the main issue here? Do I have cancer? Right now, I got no clue what's wrong with me and that's scary as hell.

"Miss Curtis-" The Dr. Kane starts but I cut him off.

"November's fine."

"November then." He says, nodding. "Due to the amount of blood you lost before you got here and on the way to the hospital, we were concerned and wanted to figure things out as soon as possible. However, we couldn't run any tests until we had parental consent. When Darrel arrived and told us he was your guardian, we got permission from him to run some tests and try to figure things out. Considering how you were bleeding from your vaginal area, we could narrow the possibilities down quite a bit. I hope it was alright with you that we took a small amount of blood to run some tests?"

"Of course." I say. If Darry consented, it sounds fine to me.

"The results should be back any minute."

"What'll the results tell you?"

"It'll show us any abnormalities with your systems and hopefully help us figure out why you bled so much." He says, reaching behind him and turning back around with a clipboard in hand. "Now your brothers filled out all of your standard information like your birthday and allergies but I need to know all the little details." He gives me a small smile which I try to return.

I don't feel lousy anymore. My stomach feels fine, apparently I ain't bleeding anymore so that's fucking great. I just hope I don't have some rare disease that'll cost us a billion dollars a year or something terrible like that.

"Dr. Kane?" I ask. I fiddle with the sheets on the hospital bed they have me laying in. "I thought this was just my period?"

"Well that was what we originally thought. But Mr. Randle assured us that it wasn't normal for you to pass out like you did. We're just being cautious, November."

A nurse walks into the room, various sheets of paper in hand which she gives Dr. Kane. He studies them, looking intent. He nods a couple of times and I can feel my heartbeat quickening because what if this is bad? What if something's _really _wrong with me? His eyebrows raise and I can't help but ask him what's wrong.

"Would you mind giving us a urine sample, Miss Curtis?"

I hesitate, looking at him funny. "Why do you need a urine sample?"

"Your hCG level is a lot higher than normal..." He trails off and I guess he must have forgotten he's talking to a fifteen-year-old.

"Is that bad?" I ask, panicking.

Now it's Dr. Kane's turn to hesitate. He looks up at me, looking slightly confused. "No, not bad. It just implies something. Can you go with Violet and give her a urine sample?"

I swing my legs out of the bed, feeling awkward in Steve's shirt and the hospital scrub pants they'd given me when I'd got here half-naked. I follow the nurse down the hall where she shows me to a bathroom, handing me a paper cup to pee in.

Once I'm back in my room, I'm really nervous. I have no idea what hCG or whatever the hell he said is. I don't know if it's bad or good. He said it implied something but he'd looked confused.

Violet had led me to my bed and now I'm in here alone, left to contemplate what the hell's wrong with me. I just wanna go home. The longer I stay here, the bigger my hospital bill's gonna be. Great.

I sit for around ten or fifteen minutes before Dr. Kane comes back in. I can't tell whether the news is good or bad; his poker face is almost as good as Ponyboy's.

"What's wrong with me?" I ask. By now, my nails are bit to the quick; one of them's bleeding. If anxiety could kill...

"It's a lot to take in November... would you rather I tell you with your brothers?"

My breathing quickens. It's obviously not very good.

"Just tell me."

"You're pregnant."

All of my breath leaves me; I feel like I got punched in the stomach. Even if I wanted to ask him how, I wouldn't be able to. He answers my unspoken question anyways.

"You had a threatened miscarriage earlier. It's where you experience the symptoms of a miscarriage but your pregnancy continues. As far as we can tell, you're fine... and the baby's fine."

Dear God. I can't be. Not now, not when me and Isaac's relationship just went to shit. Not when money's already hard to come by. Not when I'm fifteen fuckin' years old.

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_"Come on November. Please?" Isaac begs, holding himself over me with his arms. "I just want it to be you and me... nothing between us." _

_ I worry my bottom lip. We should use one, I know it's stupid to not use one. But I can't help it._

_ "Okay." I find myself saying, smiling as Isaac smirks at me. _

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I put my head in my hands, ready to cry, but the tears won't come yet. I force myself to talk, because I still don't understand this.

"How?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. "I bled so much..."

"It's rare for a threatened miscarriage to be as bad as yours." He explains. "But they've happened before and somehow the baby survives. You can go to a doctor in couple of days and have the tests reran and they can confirm the pregnancy. But as far we can tell, you're a little over a month pregnant."

"But the only time I had unprotected sex was like two weeks ago..." I say, confused.

"Well then the pregnancy must have come from another time."

"But we used a condom the first time."

"Sometimes things just happen November. I'm very sorry." He says, looking concerned.

I have to have the worst luck known to mankind. I got knocked up from the first time I had sex, even with a condom.

All I can do is nod. Dr. Kane must realize how unexpected this was and how shaken up I am.

"Should I go get your brothers?"

"Just Darry..." I say. Darry's the rock. The one you go to when you need a firm hand to help you hold yourself together. Telling him's gonna be hard enough; telling the gang's gonna be near impossible. They're gonna kill me... then they're gonna kill Isaac for knocking me up.

Dr. Kane comes back into the room with Darry. As soon as I see him, I jump off the bed and practically dive into his open arms. I start crying as soon as my head's buried under the crook of his arm, deep into the smell of his aftershave.

"Whoa sweetie." He says, rubbing circles on my back. I raise my head up and look at him.

"I'm sorry." I say, my voice cracking.

Darry looks from Dr. Kane to me and back again, confused. Dr. Kane gestures for us to sit down on the bed. Darry leads me over and I sit down beside him. When I don't say anything, Dr. Kane takes the lead.

"Darrel, your sister was bleeding a lot from her vaginal area this morning so when she arrived here we assumed there may have been something wrong with her ovaries or something of that nature. We did routine tests that we do for most fifteen-year-old girls who are bleeding like she had been. Her hCG level was a lot higher than normal so I asked November for a urine sample. Once the results came back it was clear what the problem was." Dr. Kane states, looking at me with what can only be pity.

"I didn't get any of that." Darry admits, looking at me outta the corner of his eye.

"She suffered a threatened miscarriage. That's why she bled so much, because she went through the same symptoms as a regular miscarriage without actually miscarrying."

"I'm pregnant." I clarify bluntly. His eyes widen and he stands, running both hands through his hair. His face is pale and if I didn't know better, I'd say his hands were shaking. After a second, he gathers his composure and starts pelting Dr. Kane with questions. How far along am I? Was I gonna be okay? Was the baby gonna be okay? Is there anymore paperwork to fill out? Yes, just send the bill to the same address on the paperwork. Set an appointment with a doctor so November can start prenatal care, okay. Can we leave now? Thank you very much sir.

I give Dr. Kane a nod as Darry leads me outta my room, his hand around my shoulders.

"We'll tell the guys about this when we get home okay? We're gonna have a talk kid, alright?" He says this right when we enter the waiting room. I barely have time to nod to him before I'm hugged from multiple people at the same time. My hair's ruffled more than once and my shoulder's patted numerous times.

"Glory Ember, I skipped out on a date cause I thought you were dying or something." Dally says, cuffing me gently on the side of my head.

"Damn Novie," Steve says, smirking. "You sure do know how to give us all a scare."

"So what was wrong with ya?" Two-Bit asks and everyone instantly quiets down, ready for the gory details.

"I'm fine." I say. "I'll explain everything when we get home."

Walking through the emergency room exit with the gang all around me, making wise ass comments and giving me hell for scaring everybody, I can't help but think something awful.

Dear lord, I didn't really mean it when the thought entered my mind, it was just one of those things. One of those things you think for a second, then instantly regret thinking something so horrible. But I can't help it; it was in my mind in a second, and I pushed it out of my mind in the next.

I can't help but wish for half a second that the miscarriage was worse than a threatened one. I can't help but wish that the baby... wouldn't have made it. I'm on the highway to hell now, for sure.


	13. Chapter 12

Me and Darry ditch the rest of the gang back at the house so we can head out and get food for supper. We're having spaghetti tonight, which has been on the menu a lot lately considering how cheap it is.

"Can't we have something else to eat?" I ask as we drive to the store.

"Budget's tight, November."

He's mad; his body language makes it obvious. In the whole give minutes we've been riding, the only thing he's said was that last sentence; his knuckles are clenched tight on the steering wheel; the radio's silent.

Darry may not seem like the most musical guy, but anytime he's in a moving vehicle, the radio's on. Anytime we're at the house, he cranks the radio up. He hardly ever sings along; sometimes he'll dance if he's in a good mood.

"If you're gonna yell at me, can you go ahead and get it over with?" I ask. I know I'm in for a earful. I really don't wanna hear this but the longer he holds it in, the worse it'll get for me.

He sighs, propping his elbow up on the door and rubbing his forehead.

"I know you're mad-"

"No." He says.

"What?"

"I'm not mad, or not really at you anyways. Mostly, I'm disappointed."

I don't have anything to say to that. Honestly, I would rather deal with an angry Darry than a disappointed one. When he's mad, he usually blows his anger off pretty quickly. His disappointment stretches out; he makes sure you know that you screwed up.

"Why didn't you just tell me, Ember?" He sounds so damn disappointed. I swallow back the lump that's starting to form in my throat.

"You lied to me about it. I mean an hour ago you were a virgin and now I'm gonna be a damn uncle in eight months!" His voice gets louder the more he talks; not that I blame him. He has complete right to flip shit on me.

"I didn't want you to worry..."

"Now, I'm gonna have a hell of a lot more to worry about! You're not even sixteen fuckin' years old yet! You had your whole goddamn life ahead of you! This is gonna change everything for you! It's gonna change everything for all of us!" He yells. I can't help but cringe, even though I'm sorta glad I'm getting what I deserve.

The lump gets bigger.

We pull into the Winn Dixie parking lot. He yanks the stick shift into park and turns off the ignition. "I'll be right back." He mumbles, a mix of so many emotions on his face. He doesn't slam the door; he just casually shut it behind him like this is any other evening.

I swallow back the lump in my throat again because it's pointless to cry. It won't change anything; it won't make anything better. If anything, it would just make Darry feel bad for fussing at me. Which he shouldn't feel bad. That probably wasn't even the worst of it.

I still have to tell the guys. I'm _really _not looking forward to that. It's not that I'm embarrassed or anything, I just know how they are. Or maybe I am embarrassed... They might joke about it, and I really don't feel like joking around right now. They might be mad at me, or more likely, Isaac.

My heart sinks even lower.

How is it even remotely _possible _that I hadn't even thought about Isaac anymore, other than that bleak second at the hospital? Then, I'd been thinking about our relationship but now I'm thinking about long term. Would he even want to have anything to do with it? How do I even tell him? Dear God. I bury my head in my hands, already wishing things could go back to normal where I didn't have to worry about things like this.

I've always wanted a family, but I expected I'd start one after I was married and hopefully after going to college for a while.

The driver door opens and I jump as Darry hops back in, paper bag in hand. He doesn't say anything... but he doesn't put the key in the ignition, just turns it over in his hands.

"I thought you knew how stupid it is to have unprotected sex? I mean, didn't Mom tell you about that? I know you guys learned about it in sex ed. So why did you do something so careless?" He asks.

"Unprotected sex?" I ask, looking at him. "No, Darry. The only time we didn't use a condom was like two weeks ago. About a month ago, we used a condom. I guess it just broke or..." I feel my face heat up as I think of other possibilities.

He breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank God I don't completely fail as a big brother. At least you tried to be safe. I guess it's just shitty luck, huh?"

"Yeah... I guess it is."

Another minute in silence. I hope this isn't gonna start happening a lot, the silences I mean. I don't do good with silences.

"I'm sorry I yelled. It's just a lot to think about."

"You have no idea."

xXx

By the time we pull back up to the house, it's only a little after five. Two-Bit and Dally's cars are both parked on the side of the road; we park behind them. I undo my seat belt and Darry does the same, getting out with the groceries. I stay where I am, trying to think.

Darry takes a couple of steps before realizing I'm not behind him. He turns back and comes to my door, opening it. He leans against it, a sad smile on his face.

"It'll be okay." He says.

I sigh again. I'm starting to think the lump in my throat's gonna be constant. It hasn't really left since I found out earlier today. "How am I even supposed to tell 'em?"

"Like you told me I reckon."

I follow him inside, my stomach doing flips. We're greeted from all sides. Soda's leaning against the wall, phone held between his shoulder and ear while he lays a card down on the table. All the guys are gathered at our small table, cigarettes piled in the middle for their poker game.

"Who's he talking to?" Darry asks, carrying the groceries to the kitchen counter. I don't know why he's asking, probably just for something to say.

"Sandy." Two-Bit mocks, fluttering his eyelashes and pressing his hand to his chest. Everyone laughs, even Soda, although he steps farther away, until the phone cord won't allow him to go anymore. Even I laugh. Nostalgia hits me head on like a train. I'm _really _gonna miss this; everything's gonna change.

Johnny raises everyone three cigarettes and Two-Bit and Steve immediately fold.

I move further into the kitchen, where Darry's already started boiling some water and the pack of noodles sits on the counter by the stove. We used to have homemade spaghetti sauce when Mom and Dad were still alive. I have the recipe; I just can't bring myself to make it yet. So we use store bought. The same brand that half of Tulsa probably uses.

I go over to the coffee pot, a fresh pot of straight caffeine. I pour myself a cup, using the biggest mug we have. With everything that's happened today, I feel pretty drained... so caffeine'll hopefully help me out some.

"You might wanna watch how much of that you drink." Darry says. "Mom always said-" He stops abruptly, looking around the room. He slides the garlic bread, also store bought, into the oven.

"Said what?" I ask, the mug resting on my lips.

"A lot ain't good for the baby." He says in a low voice.

"Oh..." I move the cup away from my mouth. I hold it out to him, asking, "Do you want it then?"

He shakes his head. "I've already my fair share of it today."

I walk over to the table where the poker game is still going on. Most of the guys either don't like coffee at all or don't like it black; except Steve. I walk over to his seat beside Dally. I peek at Dally's cards, trying to keep the grin off my face, realizing he has shit. He sure can bluff though.

"You want this?" I ask Steve, holding the steaming mug out to him. He raises his eyebrows at me.

"You'd usually kill one of us for a cup..." He says, taking the mug outta my hands. It's true, I'm a fanatic. "You sure you don't want it?" He asks, even though the cup's already traveling to his mouth.

"It ain't good for the baby."

Coffee spews outta Steve's mouth, all over the table and on Ponyboy and Johnny. I can feel my face heat up as everyone focuses on me, the poker game forgotten. The only people not looking at me are Darry and Soda. Soda's still indulged in his conversation with Sandy. He looks around though, noticing the silence.

"Hey babe, I gotta go... yeah I'll see ya tomorrow... you too...Bye."

"Are you serious?" Pony asks as he wipes coffee off his face.

"What happened?" Soda asks, studying everyone.

"Novie here's knocked up." Dally says, expressionless.

"Jesus." Steve mutters under his breath. "That little shit."

I glance down at him, wondering for a second what he's talking about...but I realize he's talking about Isaac. I look at Soda, and he looks just like Darry when he found out. He's pale and I can tell he's thinking hard about it. He walks over to Darry and they start talking in low voices.

Everyone's staring at me and I just don't know what to say.

"How the hell's that even possible?" Dally asks. "They said you were bleedin' like a stuck pig."

"I had a threatened miscarriage; it means I almost had a regular miscarriage but somehow the baby's still alive."

"How far along are ya?" Pony asks, voice tight. Two-Bit stands up and walks towards me.

"Around...a month..." I say, voice trailing off. Because Two-Bit has his hand flat on my abdomen. A giggle comes outta my mouth and I start laughing. A couple of the guys laugh too; however, Soda and Darry are still talking heavily by the stove as Darry drains the spaghetti.

"When's it gonna start kickin'?" Two-Bit asks, hand still on my belly.

I look down at Steve, he now has on his signature smirk. Thank God for Two-Bit for lightening up the mood. I shrug.

"It don' even got legs yet Two, how you expect it to kick?" Johnny says. Everyone laughs at that. Two-Bit wanders back to his seat. "Well when it starts kickin', I better be the first to know, ya hear?" He winks at me.

"Don't none of y'all tell anyone either." I say. "I don't want anyone to know for as long as possible."

"People are gonna figure it out sooner or later." Steve remarks, gesturing to my stomach.

"No shit." I mutter, flicking him on the side of the head lightly and heading to the stove to help dish out spaghetti. Darry hands me a plate, spaghetti covered in sauce with two pieces of garlic bread on the side.

"Dig in." He says. "You've had a hard day."

I stand on tiptoe, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Dar."

Supper's good; obviously nothing compared to Mom's but she was a one of a kind cook. I think the guys sorta get the hint that I don't really wanna talk about the baby so we burn through twenty other topics. The nostalgia hits again as I see everyone joking around the table, cussing and roughhousing. Things are definitely gonna change. And I still have eight months to dwell on things.

xXx

The smell of coffee brewing wakes me up the next worning. I roll over, glancing at Pony's bed, which is surprisingly empty. I head towards the kitchen, the smell of food too strong to ignore. I'm wearing a big t-shirt again. Sometimes Darry nags at me for going around like this in the morning but I just reply that it's my house and the shirt covers everything. And frankly, I don't feel like changing just so I can go get some toast and then go back to my room. No.

Steve's sitting in a chair at the table, toast and jam on a plate in front of him. Pony and Darry are talking deeper in the kitchen.

"Mornin' Stevie." I mutter. He nods at me, too busy leafing through a car magazine to really acknowledge me.

Darry and Pony stop talking when they hear me. "What're you doin' up?" Darry asks, eyebrows raised at me.

I cock an eyebrow at him. "I have school... just like I always do on Tuesdays'."

"Go on back to bed, missin' another day won't hurt ya."

"I'm fine, Darry. I can go." I reply.

"Come on, Ember. You won't be able to pay attention in school today even if ya did go." Pony points out.

I think about it for a second, knowing they're right. "I can't just start missin' school cause I'm pregnant." I say bluntly.

"Pony's right; you could use a day to just wrap your head around everything. I don't want you to over-think while you're at school."

I grab the other half of Steve's toast off of his plate, biting into it without him even noticing. I don't answer for a second, just eat Steve's toast.

"So... you're afraid I'll have a mental breakdown?"

Darry sighs, saying, "Just take the day off, Ember, okay? Please?"

"Okay." I say, deciding to stop being difficult. "But I'm fine, Darry, okay? I'm completely fine."

He nods. I go back into my room, crawling deep under the covers, wishing I could just bury my problems underneath them as well as myself.

"Who the fuck ate my toast?"

xXx

I sleep pretty late, but I don't dare feel guilty about it. Darry was right, 110%. Honestly, if he's told me I needed to go to school, I probably woulda objected. This day off will really help me get all my thoughts in order. And the house looks like shit, so I can clean too to occupy myself.

By the time noon rolls around, I've swept and mopped the kitchen and vacuumed the carpets. I started a load of the guys clothes. Jesus, they sure do dirty a lot in a week's time. I have to put stain remover on almost all of Soda's clothes, due to the grease and oil and God knows what else he has smeared over everything.

Now I'm starting to do the dishes. The pile's beyond huge, but I guess it could be worse considering all the company we constantly have.

I'm trying to keep busy because whenever I have a spare second, I find myself thinking about the baby. _The baby. _I keep finding myself holding my belly, or looking at it when I pass a mirror, even though I don't have a baby bump yet.

I keep thinking about how in Sam's heck I'm gonna tell Isaac that he's... gonna be a... _father. _

I keep thinking about how much money we're gonna have to spend on prenatal care for me, and baby clothes and baby food and diapers and baby wipes and everything else.

I keep thinking about how in a couple of months, when my baby bump's visible, I'm gonna be judged beyond belief. I think I get dirty looks now for being a greaser and wearing short skirts but that'll be nothing compared to the looks I'm bound to get when people figure out I'm knocked up.

It's the 1960's and I'm a pregnant, single, fifteen-year-old girl. Who lives with her three older brothers and hangs around a bunch of hoods.

I don't even realize I'm crying at first. Not until it turns into huge, heaving sobs. Not until my nose is running and I'm gripping the edge of the sink, shoulders shaking with the efforts of trying to quiet myself. I've been trying so hard to convince Darry that I'm fine, I hadn't even realized how wrong I was. I'm not fine. I'm gonna have a baby. Soon, my stomach's gonna swell with my child and I'll have to give birth and raise a fuckin' baby. And I'm a sophomore in high school.

I grip the sink edge harder and rock back and forth, still sobbing. This is the hardest I think I've ever cried. My breathes are quick and shallow, I'm sniffing constantly to keep the snot from running down my face and I probably sound like I'm dying from the noises I'm making.

"November?"

I whip around, my eyes going wide at being caught in this state... by Steve Randle of all people. He's holding a small paper bag in his hand with what I assume is lunch for me. His smirk's gone, replaced by a deep frown. He sits the bag on the table and takes a cautious step towards me.

"Are you-"

"I'm fine." I choke out, even as the tears wash down my face. I run my fingers through my hair.

"It's okay Novie." He says. I shake my head vigorously, because everything's wrong. Nothing's okay right now.

"A baby, Steve. I'm fuckin' pregnant. I can't do it. I can't, I can't." The heaving gets worse and I just can't. I sink down to my knees, crossing my arms over my stomach. But then I pull them away, remembering what's inside.

He kneels down in front of me and he doesn't even have time to reach out to me. I lean forward and press my head against his chest. His arms wrap around me and I just cry.

"Shh... You're okay. Everything's gonna be okay." He says, rubbing my back.

Some people might think that Steve's insensitive and ill-tempered, and sometimes, I agree. But at times like this, I wonder how anyone could ever think bad about him.

**(Thank you for all the reviews!(: They've been a big help! Also thanks to everyone who helped me out with the previous chapter, because that was a huge struggle haha. I was torn between the pregnancy or the full on miscarriage but I finally went with this one because it gave me more to work with and seemed more interesting. I apologize if anyone thought the hospital scenes weren't realistic... I unfortunately am not licensed in medicinal purposes so therefore my knowledge is limited and I am forced to rely on Google. I tried to make this chapter long since I've made y'all wait for a while. Hope you enjoy it! If you have any questions or ideas, pleasssseeeeeee message me or comment. Hope everyone has a good day!(: )**


	14. Chapter 13

"So you're going to be taking one prenatal vitamin and one DHA supplement everyday, as long as they don't make your nausea worse. How has the nausea been for you?" Dr. Cassell asks. He's sitting in front of me on a stool; Soda's sitting off to the side, in one of those incredibly uncomfortable plastic chairs. Darry had called the doctors' office the afternoon of my meltdown to schedule my appointment. He'd gotten the closest one they had, today, Friday.

"It hasn't been too bad. I've only gotten sick a handful of times." I answer. "So, what does the DHA do?"

"It's thought to help prevent conditions associated with pregnancy, like preeclampsia, miscarriage and early delivery, and postpartum depression. It's just an extra precaution to try and keep you and the baby as healthy as possible. Considering the threatened miscarriage you've already suffered, I would think this would be pretty comforting." He gives me a tight smile and I try to send one back.

"Absolutely." I say, nodding. I'm trying to speed things up because it looks like Soda's about to bounce outta his chair, he's moving his leg so much. "So I can just book another appointment for about a month?"

Dr. Cassell nods. "Unless you have any other concerns or think you need to be checked quicker."

I slide off of the exam table and Soda gets to his feet, looking grateful.

"November..." Dr. Cassell says, his voice lower than it was a second ago. "I'd like to unofficially suggest something."

"What is it?" I ask warily.

"I trust you won't take offense to this, because I'm saying this out of concern for you. Typically, pregnancies resulted from... for lack of a better term, wedlock, aren't accepted by today's society."

I feel Soda stiffen beside me; he wraps an arm around my shoulders.

"I don't understand what you're suggesting?"

"It's not seen as proper for a young lady like yourself to be with child, so young and not mar-"

"Listen Doctor, she's completely aware of her situation. We personally don't give a damn what's proper and what ain't." Soda says bitterly. He usually ain't that blunt about things, but right now I'm sorta glad he said something.

"Let him finish Sodapop." I say, nudging him with my elbow.

"With the few girls I've seen in here who were young and pregnant, I always suggested they leave town. Maybe go to an aunt or grandmother's to have the baby." He says, not looking happy about what he's saying.

"You think she should leave town just because she's gonna have a baby?" Soda asks, furious. "You think she should leave her family just because she's knocked up? Hell no. Come on November."

"Why?" I ask, rooted to the spot, despite Soda tugging on my arm.

"People can be cruel. No offense, Miss Curtis, but it's frowned on heavily to have a baby out of wedlock. People see it as a sin, November, and they'll make sure you know it. I'm telling you this for your own good. I'm not telling you this as a doctor; I'm telling you this because I know most of the people in this town. Please consider it."

I don't say anything, just give him a nod. Because really, what do you say to _that?_ Soda leads me up to the front desk. I stand there for a second as the nurse behind the counter sits there, tapping her pen. After a second, I get a little impatient. I clear my throat. She glances up, then back to her paper, seeming uninterested in the fact that I'm standing in front of her. I clear my throat even louder, making heads turn towards us.

"Can I help you?" The lady asks. I'm not one to judge, but she seems real snooty.

"I need an appointment for about late November." I say, giving her a big smile. I don't like cocky people and she definitely seems the type.

"Name?"

"November Curtis."

"What?" She asks.

"It's spelled just like the month." I reply, smirking.

"Reason for appointment?" She asks with a scowl on her face.

"Pregnancy." I answer boldly, looking straight at her. Her pen jerks on the paper, marking a black line across her appointment book.

"Pardon me?"

"Preg-nan-cy. Did you hear me that time?"

Soda chuckles beside me and I grin even bigger at Nurse Ratchet. If looks could kill, I'd be buried by now. If I thought I was getting a look a minute ago, that ain't nothing compared to the scowl on her face now.

She writes on her pristine, white paper and looks back up at me, a foul expression on her face. "We'll see you on November 29th Miss Curtis."

I glance at her name tag. "Much obliged Mrs. Wright. Have a great evening."

xXx

"I mean, really? Why the hell would I even consider leaving town?" I ask Darry, my voice louder than it should be. I'm pretty pissed about the appointment. Soda had been too but he can only stay angry for so long before he puts it in the back of his mind. He'd left almost as soon as we'd walked through the door; him and Sandy were going out with Steve and some other chick since Evie's outta the picture now.

"He was just trying to help you out Ember. I don't agree with him at all, but he wasn't trying to be an asshole about it."

I plop down on one of the chairs on our porch. I know he's right. But what's worse is I know that the doctor was probably right.

"He was right wasn't he?" I ask, realization flooding through me, as I look at Darry as he leans against the porch railing, hand in his pocket. He turns back to look at me.

"What?"

"The smart thing to do would be to leave town, right? Everyone's gonna make fun of me and judge me. He said it would be for my own good; he's right ain't he?"

Darry sighs and comes over to sit in the other chair beside me. "It ain't gonna be easy, sweetie. You know that though." He thinks for a second, running a hand through his hair which I've noticed he does a lot. "I hate to say it, but the doctor's right. The easiest thing to do would be to ship you off and get you away from all the stubborn people in this town who are gonna give you hell."

"I ain't leavin' Dar." I insist.

"I said it would be the easiest; when have we ever went with the easier option?" He jokes, bumping me with his knee.

"So I'm gonna get hell from people?" I ask.

He nods, being honest. "You probably don't remember... but when I was in your grade, 'bout four or five years ago, a girl in my grade got knocked up. She was middle class, one of the sweetest girls you could ever meet. I was pretty good friends with her and her boyfriend. Her parents wanted to send her off when they first found out but Lisa insisted on stayin'. She got hell all the time Ember. She dealt with it, and so did her boyfriend, but it wasn't easy on her."

"If you're tryin' to scare me, it's workin'." I mutter.

He chuckles. "Honey, I ain't tryin' to scare ya, I'm just being honest with you. It ain't gonna be easy, but you won't be alone. You've got the whole gang backing you up."

Two-Bit's car pulls up in front of the house and he beeps the horn theatrically. "Y'all ready to party?!"

"Thanks Darry." I say, smiling as Two-Bit strolls up the sidewalk, running a comb through his hair.

"Go get your dancin' shoes on little Curtis, we're leavin' in a minute." Two-Bit says, grinning at me. I look at Darry, eyebrows raised, a question in my eyes.

"Go get your dancin' shoes on Ember."

I hop up, give him a kiss on the cheek, and head inside to change. I go through the clothes in my closet. It makes sense to wear a dress I won't be able to wear much longer... so I change into a short dress, really short. It shows off my curves, the ones that're barely there I should add. I slip on a pair of nude stockings, slide into the dress, and step into my white go-go boots. There's not much to do with my hair, so I just leave it down. It's hardly what anyone would call curly, but at least it's not stick straight.

I don't overdo the makeup; Darry doesn't like it when I wear a lot. I keep it simple, just eyeliner, mascara, a little eyeshadow and a squirt of perfume.

I turn to the side in front of the mirror, looking at my stomach. You definitely can't tell what's inside yet. Hopefully you won't be able to for a while.

xXx

"Two-Bit!" I yell, laughing as he twirls me in a fast circle. _Twist and Shout _by The Beatles is playing and I'm praying for a slow song to come on. I can dance pretty good, but if Two-Bit slings me around much more I'm gonna get whiplash. He keeps ahold of my hand and twirls me out until his arm's extended and then pulls me back in.

We've been here maybe an hour and Two-Bit's trying his best to make sure I have a good time. His reasoning was, "Pretty soon you'll be waddling around, so you should dance while you're still little.". Obviously, it completely boosted my self-esteem.

He twirls me again as the song comes to an end.

"Glory Two-Bit, you tryin' to make me puke?" I ask, keeping a hand on his shoulder since the room's spinning a little.

"You just can't handle my moves, Ember."

I hold onto his elbow as he leads me into the clustered kitchen. Two-Bit grabs a beer from the fridge and hands me a Pepsi. Darry reminded me and him both about ten times that I'm not allowed to drink or smoke.

"This sucks." I mutter, taking a sip of the Pepsi.

"At least you got to come." Two-Bit offers, clinking his beer can against my Pepsi. I shrug in response.

"Can I leave you alone for five minutes?" He asks, eyes across the room. I look over my shoulder, figuring Two-Bit must be eying the busty blonde standing with a friend in the hallway.

I chuckle, saying, "Nobody's making you stay with me, go on." I give him a shove towards her.

"Five minutes."

"Five minutes my ass." I mutter, leaning back against the counter and watching Two-Bit oh-so-casually lean against the stairwell beside the blonde and strike a conversation. I don't even have time to glance around the room to find someone else to talk to before my shoulder's being tapped. I turn around, definitely not expecting who I see.

"Not drinking a beer, I see. You're gonna stand out like a sore thumb being the only sober babe here." Jay says, a beer in hand.

"Maybe I'd rather stick out like a sore thumb than humiliate myself by drinking until I pass out in the street." I say stiffly, even though I would kill for a beer right now.

"Just makin' conversation..."

"Go make it with someone else Jay."

"I'd rather not." He says, hardly offended. "I'd say me and you are actually friends."

"Not even close." I reply icily.

"You let me drive you home that time, remember?"

I'd rather not think about that car ride... that had been when he'd picked me up when Isaac was 'busy'. Looking back now, I can't help but wonder if he lied about where he was.

"I gotta message for you." Jay says, smirking in a know-it-all way.

"From who?"

"Isaac."

I narrow my eyes at him. "If Isaac has a message for me, he can tell me himself."

"You think he's stupid enough to get near you while your whole gang's practically here? And besides, he ain't even here."

"He's out with Abigail, I assume." I say. It feels so weird to think about him out with someone else. I can't help but feel really jealous.

"Actually no..." He says with a completely straight face. His mouth's in a tight line now.

"What's wrong?" I ask immediately. Not that I should care, but if Jay looks worried, then it can't be good.

"That's the message. Which won't be revealed until you give me the pleasure of a dance." He winks at me.

_Jesus. _I sigh, setting my Pepsi down on the counter. "Alright."

His eyebrows shoot up. "Really? I expected a fight."

We walk into the living room, where couples are close together for the slow song that just started.

He grabs my hand and puts his other _real _low on my back. I scowl at him.

"He's real sorry Ember."

"That's the message?" I ask, irritated. I'd thought someone was hurt or something.

"No..." He trails off, frowning. "I just thought you should know. He asked me to tell you that what happened with Abigail didn't mean anything to him."

I really hope that I'm not this emotional the whole time I'm pregnant, because I can already feel tears brimming my eyes.

"It obviously did or else he wouldn't have done it."

"It was just a one night stand, Ember." Jay says.

Having the confirmation that they did have sex makes a tear drop down. I angrily swipe at it. I figured they had fooled around, but hearing it's true is completely different.

"Just a one night stand while we were dating. After we'd already been datin' for ten months!" My voice rises and the couple next to us scoots away a little.

"You know he didn't-"

"I don't fuckin' care Jay. Isaac screwed up more times than I can count. If he's too shitty to explain things to my face, then he ain't worth it."

"He fucked up, you know that. But so does he." He pulls me close.

I push on his shoulders, but both of his hands are firm on my lower back.

"Jay, fuck off." I say. "You're drunk."

"Ember, you're just so-"

"Can I cut in?" A voice asks from behind me. A voice that clearly won't take no for an answer. A voice that I recognize from the long years of friendship, and the countless times he's been there for me over the past couple of days.

"Randle." Jay greets, still keeping a vice grip on me. I turn to look at Steve over my shoulder, noting how calm he looks. I'm perfectly aware of how easily he could kick Jay's ass.

"You're drunk Bowman, but you ain't stupid so if ya know what's good for ya, you'll back off."

Jay hesitates, but after a second he lets go of me and I feel Steve slip his arm around my waist. "Jay." I say as he starts to walk away. He turns back around, his cocky grin already back in place. "Tell Isaac to grow a set and come talk to me himself."

He nods in acknowledgment and stalks off, probably in search of someone else to hassle. Steve leaves one hand on my waist and grabs my hand with his other.

"You don't like to dance." I remind him, smiling.

He chuckles, saying, "No... but I'll make an exception since I know you do and you seem to be having a rough week." He thinks for a second as I laugh. "Bowman didn't bother ya too bad did he?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle."

"What was he sayin' about Isaac?"

I focus on the oil stain on the collar of Steve's white t-shirt, barely visible beneath his button up shirt. I don't want him to see my eyes brim again; he's seen me cry too many times lately.

"It wasn't anything important. Just a load of shit."

"Don't worry about Jay. He's a world-class jackass." Steve says, spinning me.

"Thanks for steppin' in, by the way."

"Soda woulda beat me to it but he's... um, busy." He smirks at me, gesturing with his head towards the front door.

"They took off without ya?"

"Nah, just makin' good use of my backseat. Another reason he needs his own car."

I laugh, peering at the side of his neck. "Looks like you had a pretty good time yourself... I hope I didn't steal away from your date?"

He releases my hand for a second to try to find where I'm talking about on his neck. I grab his hand and place it over the trail of hickeys leading down under his shirt.

"Those ain't from my date." With the grin on his face, you'd think he won first place in a car show. I feel my face get red, for whatever reason.

"Glory Stevie, you tryin' to give Evie a run for her money, huh?" I say, grinning. We stop dancing as the song comes to an end. He slings an arm over my shoulders as we head towards the front door.

"There ain't no competing with good ole Evie." He says sarcastically. "Come on, maybe if we throw rocks at the tires long enough, they'll come up for air and realize we're ready to leave."

The car comes into view as we cross the street, and Steve curses under his breath.

"Jesus, I ain't even gonna be able to drive home."

"We'll leave the doors open for a while, let the windows unfog." I say, laughing as Steve chucks a small piece of gravel at the front tire.

"Maybe if we threw one at the actual car, they'd hear it." I suggest, cocking an arm back, ready to sling.

"Hell no." Steve says, grabbing my arm. "You might chip the paint."

"Well then we're gonna be here a while..."

(**Wasn't the most exciting chapter... Something will happen soon, I promise. Is anyone out there still alive and reading this? Haha Y'all should definitely leave reviews and give me suggestions or guesses about how Isaac will handle finding out, or anything thing else you have ideas on! They really help me! Hope everyone has a good day!(: )**


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